Former Bank of Oakland President Stephen Henry Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud

MEMPHIS—Stephen Henry, 46, of Memphis, Tennessee, pleaded guilty to one count of misapplication of bank funds in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 656, announced U.S. Attorney Edward L. Stanton, III.

Henry was serving as president and CEO of Oakland Deposit Bank, which was owned by his family. According to information revealed during his plea hearing, Oakland Bank had made numerous loans to Stephen Sims, a local real estate investor. In late 2007, many of these loans were delinquent. In an effort to keep the loans from going into default, Stephen Henry assisted Stephen Sims in using money from construction loans to pay on unrelated unsecured loans which had become delinquent. In addition, Stephen Henry manipulated the bank’s books and records to allow bank money to be used to pay on delinquent loans without being credited to a customer’s account.

The scheme eventually led to Sims defaulting on more than $2.4 million dollars in loans from the bank. As a result, Oakland Deposit Bank was forced to go into receivership and was taken over by officials with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The bank was later sold.

For his role in the scheme, Sims pleaded guilty to three counts of bank fraud and was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison in July 2012. He was also ordered to pay more than $2.4 million in restitution.

Henry will appear before U.S. District Judge Samuel Mays on April 26, 2013, for sentencing. He could receive up to 30 years in prison and up to a $1 million fine.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the FDIC. Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Larry Laurenzi represented the government.