Former Bank Vice President Pleads Guilty to Receiving Kickback, Filing False Tax Returns

Urbana, Ill. – Sentencing has been set for Dec. 11, for a former vice president of the State Bank of Herscher, David Rabideau, 43, of Clifton, Ill. Yesterday, Rabideau pled guilty to receiving a kickback for procuring a real estate loan and to two counts of filing false tax returns, as announced by Jim Lewis, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois.  Rabideau remains on bond following his appearance yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge David G. Bernthal.
 
According to court documents, Rabideau has served as a branch manager, vice president, and secretary of the board of directors for the State Bank of Herscher in Kankakee, Ill. Rabideau also served as one of the bank’s primary loan officers. During court hearings, Rabideau admitted that in 2007, he served as the loan officer for a $500,000 bank loan to a customer to finance the purchase of real estate. Rabideau did not disclose his financial interest in this loan; that he was going to receive a $75,000 kickback from the customer. Following the real estate closing, Rabideau gave the customer a cashier’s check for $75,000 from the State Bank of Herscher, and told him to deposit it into the customer’s bank account.  Rabideau also instructed the customer to write a check in the amount of $75,000, as a “finder’s fee” to Rabideau in connection with the real estate transaction. The same day, the customer wrote Rabideau a $75,000 check drawn on the customer’s business account.

Rabideau further admitted that for tax years 2006 and 2007, he failed to report various income he received.  As a result of the understated gross income, Rabideau failed to pay at least $36,585 in income tax due to the government. Income Rabideau failed to report on his 2006 tax return included $16,572 he received as a “silent partner” in a real estate transaction via checks written to nominal payees and falsely claimed to be for the “sale of cow,” and a “finder’s fee” of $15,000 from a real estate agent, with the false statement "sale of tractor, antiques, etc.” in the check’s memo line. Rabideau admitted he failed to report additional income on his 2007 tax return, including $9,500 in capital gains from selling shares of Hershare Financial Corporation, the holding company for the State Bank of Herscher, in addition to the $75,000 kickback from a customer in connection with the real estate loan.

For receipt of money for procuring a loan, the statutory maximum penalty is up to 30 years in prison, and a fine of up to $1,000,000. The statutory maximum penalty for each count of filing a false income tax return is up to three years in prison, and a fine up to $100,000. 

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugene L. Miller.  The charges are the result of an investigation by the IRS Criminal Investigation Division; the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Office of Inspector General; and, the FBI.

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