Respected Business Owner Pulls Off Bernie Madoff Scheme in LaGrange
11/3/2009
Over the years, a life insurance agent in LaGrange built up trust with clients so they would rely upon him for investment advice. This man was a small business owner himself, a respected member of the community, and, as it turned out, a financial predator. Banks took advantage of his respected position in the community, conning his clients into taking his investment advice (he even managed to fool some of his closest friends). By the end, he had embezzled nearly $7 million from investors over a three-year period by falsifying accounts, making fictional investments and showing nonexistent profits.
He began with just a few clients and around $200,000. As he saw that his scheme was working, he increased the numbers and took more chances, eventually scamming over 30 people. He forged signatures on legal documents from insurance papers to transaction orders, moving money into his personal accounts. He even went so far to sending fraudulent information to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
His clients were people he knew well, including a friend of 20 years who had invested over $160,000 of his own money. Similar to Banks’ other investors, this longtime friend initially saw good returns in the beginning, but that changed. To pay these returns, the scammer took out loans through his small business (which he then defaulted on later). As Banks received good returns, he began stealing from his investors to cover his own personal expenses and pad his own accounts. Banks took advantage of his clients’ trust, leaving them penniless by the end. Sadly, for many of them, it was their life savings.
Thanks to the efforts of the Georgia Secretary of State and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation justice was served. Banks was found guilty of embezzlement and sentenced to 18 years in prison.
