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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA former loan officer in Indianapolis has been charged with making a false bank entry following an investigation by the FBI.
Robert E. Tolle, 39, Greenwood, faces a maximum 30-year prison sentence and $1 million fine.
Prosecutors allege that Tolle, a former commercial loan officer at Old National Bank, falsified a construction progress inspection report in September 2007 involving a residential development project.
Tolle included the document in a bank loan file to deceive officers of the loan’s status, so that it would not be downgraded, prosecutors said. The loan ultimately went into default and was written off by Evansville-based Old National.
IBJ reported in 2008 that the bank fired Tolle after it uncovered misconduct that exposed it to potential losses approaching $20 million.
Old National, which never named Tolle, said it discovered the problem in the middle of the first quarter of 2008, when the deterioration of several of his loans caused the bank to begin scrutinizing the lender’s portfolio.
Bank officials said they initially unearthed a forged inspection report. They then found other misconduct, such as faked signatures, that hindered Old National’s ability to seize collateral in the event loans soured.
Old National said then that it had contacted the FBI to pursue its options, including civil and criminal charges, and to attempt to recover losses from its insurance carrier.
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