November 18, 2014

Hubbard, Iowa Woman Sent to Prison for Bank Fraud

A woman who forged a court order in support of her request for a bank loan and a separate letter purporting to be from a United States Department of Justice official was sentenced on November 17, 2014, to nearly four years in federal prison.

Stephanie Drake (formerly known as Stephanie Drake-Zierke), age 51, from Hubbard, Iowa, received the prison term after a July 23, 2014 guilty plea to one count of bank fraud and one count of unlawful manufacture and possession of a United States Department of Justice seal.

In a plea agreement, Drake admitted that, between about March 2009 and September 2012, she fraudulently induced a bank to loan her money by falsely claiming that her husband had been awarded a legal settlement in the amount of $2,200,000. Drake also admitted presenting a fabricated document to the bank purporting to be a court order for the legal settlement. Drake also admitted defrauding the same bank by presenting falsified loan paperwork indicating her husband’s parents had agreed to guarantee a loan of up to $162,600. Drake admitted that, between May 2008 and September 2012, the bank loaned her a total of at least $483,513.51. Drake admitted her conduct resulted in a loss to the bank of more than $400,000.

Drake was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. Drake was sentenced to 41 months’ imprisonment on the bank fraud count and an additional, consecutive term of six months’ imprisonment on the count of unlawful manufacture and possession of a United States Department of Justice seal. The total term of imprisonment imposed was 47 months. A special assessment of $110 was imposed, and she was ordered to make $708,217.95 in restitution to the defrauded bank and other victims. Drake must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

Drake was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on a date yet to be set.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Peter Deegan and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Hardin County, Iowa, Sheriff’s Office.

Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 14-CR-2032.