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U.S. Seeks 385 Years in Prison for Ex-Taylor Bean Chairman
By JACQUELINE PALANK
Federal prosecutors said the former chairman of mortgage lender Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp., Lee Farkas, should spend the rest of his life behind bars because he continues to deny responsibility for the devastation he wrought as the mastermind of a multibillion-dollar "fraud of staggering proportions."
Prosecutors on Thursday filed court papers urging U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema to impose the statutory maximum prison sentence of 385 years on Mr. Farkas, whom a jury in April found guilty of 14 counts of conspiracy and bank, wire and securities fraud. Mr. Farkas, 58 years old, is set to be sentenced next Thursday.
William B. Cummings, Mr. Farkas's attorney, called the proposed sentence "too high" and said he would file court papers later Friday requesting a lesser, but still "substantial," sentence for his client. Mr. Farkas, who pleaded not guilty to the charges, wants to appeal and may do so after the sentence is handed down, Mr. Cummings said.
Mr. Farkas, who built up Ocala, Fla.-based Taylor Bean into one of the nation's biggest mortgage lenders, was found guilty of misappropriating about $3 billion from banks such as Colonial Bank of Montgomery, Ala., and of trying to fraudulently obtain more than $550 million from the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP.
Prosecutors said Mr. Farkas personally pocketed $40 million from the scheme, which he used to buy a jet, an "exotic" car collection, multiple homes and businesses.
"Farkas fueled his lifestyle of ostentatious wealth by ripping off banks and attempting to steal from the government, all with little to no regard for the consequences to TBW's or Colonial Bank's employees, thousands of whom lost their jobs when TBW and Colonial Bank closed," prosecutors said. "And to this day … Farkas continues to deny any responsibility for the devastation brought on by the staggering fraud scheme that he initiated and led."
The fraud included the sale of more than $1.5 million in phony mortgage assets to Colonial Bank, the reselling of $900 million in mortgages already pledged to other owners and the misleading of investors in Colonial Bank's parent in order to secure TARP money for the bank. As a result of the fraud, the bank failed, and both Taylor Bean and Colonial BancGroup Inc. collapsed into bankruptcy in 2009.
In addition to the 385-year prison sentence, prosecutors are also asking that Judge Brinkema order the forfeiture of $42.2 million from Mr. Farkas.
Meanwhile, dozens of letters from Mr. Farkas's friends, family members, former employees and other acquaintances have come in urging the judge to be lenient. The letters describe Mr. Farkas's philanthropy not only in the Ocala community but also in their lives, from helping people care for sick relatives, start their own businesses and fund college educations.
This month, Judge Brinkema handed down sentences for Mr. Farkas's co-conspirators in the scheme. Taylor Bean's former chief executive, Paul Allen, and former president, Raymond Bowman, received 40 months and 30 months in prison, respectively. Taylor Bean's former treasurer, Desiree Brown, received a six-year sentence, while Colonial Bank officials Catherine Kissick and Teresa Kelly received sentences of eight years and three months, respectively.
The disparity between those sentences and the proposed sentence for Mr. Farkas is warranted, prosecutors said.
"Farkas's co-conspirators are generally decent people who made terrible decisions and failed to extricate themselves from a fraud scheme spiraling out of control. Farkas can hardly be included in this category," they said. "For years, he manipulated his co-conspirators and others to his personal advantage...Farkas exemplifies the adage that there is 'no honor among thieves'."
Prosecutors also said that handing down the highest-possible sentence to Mr. Farkas would serve as a powerful deterrent to executives lured by the promise of easy corporate profits and substantial riches for themselves.
Write to Jacqueline Palank at jacqueline.palank@dowjones.com
- JUNE 24, 2011, 11:36 A.M. ET
U.S. Seeks 385 Years in Prison for Ex-Taylor Bean Chairman
By JACQUELINE PALANK
Federal prosecutors said the former chairman of mortgage lender Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp., Lee Farkas, should spend the rest of his life behind bars because he continues to deny responsibility for the devastation he wrought as the mastermind of a multibillion-dollar "fraud of staggering proportions."
Prosecutors on Thursday filed court papers urging U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema to impose the statutory maximum prison sentence of 385 years on Mr. Farkas, whom a jury in April found guilty of 14 counts of conspiracy and bank, wire and securities fraud. Mr. Farkas, 58 years old, is set to be sentenced next Thursday.
William B. Cummings, Mr. Farkas's attorney, called the proposed sentence "too high" and said he would file court papers later Friday requesting a lesser, but still "substantial," sentence for his client. Mr. Farkas, who pleaded not guilty to the charges, wants to appeal and may do so after the sentence is handed down, Mr. Cummings said.
Mr. Farkas, who built up Ocala, Fla.-based Taylor Bean into one of the nation's biggest mortgage lenders, was found guilty of misappropriating about $3 billion from banks such as Colonial Bank of Montgomery, Ala., and of trying to fraudulently obtain more than $550 million from the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP.
Prosecutors said Mr. Farkas personally pocketed $40 million from the scheme, which he used to buy a jet, an "exotic" car collection, multiple homes and businesses.
"Farkas fueled his lifestyle of ostentatious wealth by ripping off banks and attempting to steal from the government, all with little to no regard for the consequences to TBW's or Colonial Bank's employees, thousands of whom lost their jobs when TBW and Colonial Bank closed," prosecutors said. "And to this day … Farkas continues to deny any responsibility for the devastation brought on by the staggering fraud scheme that he initiated and led."
The fraud included the sale of more than $1.5 million in phony mortgage assets to Colonial Bank, the reselling of $900 million in mortgages already pledged to other owners and the misleading of investors in Colonial Bank's parent in order to secure TARP money for the bank. As a result of the fraud, the bank failed, and both Taylor Bean and Colonial BancGroup Inc. collapsed into bankruptcy in 2009.
In addition to the 385-year prison sentence, prosecutors are also asking that Judge Brinkema order the forfeiture of $42.2 million from Mr. Farkas.
Meanwhile, dozens of letters from Mr. Farkas's friends, family members, former employees and other acquaintances have come in urging the judge to be lenient. The letters describe Mr. Farkas's philanthropy not only in the Ocala community but also in their lives, from helping people care for sick relatives, start their own businesses and fund college educations.
This month, Judge Brinkema handed down sentences for Mr. Farkas's co-conspirators in the scheme. Taylor Bean's former chief executive, Paul Allen, and former president, Raymond Bowman, received 40 months and 30 months in prison, respectively. Taylor Bean's former treasurer, Desiree Brown, received a six-year sentence, while Colonial Bank officials Catherine Kissick and Teresa Kelly received sentences of eight years and three months, respectively.
The disparity between those sentences and the proposed sentence for Mr. Farkas is warranted, prosecutors said.
"Farkas's co-conspirators are generally decent people who made terrible decisions and failed to extricate themselves from a fraud scheme spiraling out of control. Farkas can hardly be included in this category," they said. "For years, he manipulated his co-conspirators and others to his personal advantage...Farkas exemplifies the adage that there is 'no honor among thieves'."
Prosecutors also said that handing down the highest-possible sentence to Mr. Farkas would serve as a powerful deterrent to executives lured by the promise of easy corporate profits and substantial riches for themselves.
Write to Jacqueline Palank at jacqueline.palank@dowjones.com
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