Blanchardville businessman admits to writing $15M in bad checks, connection in loan fraud
A second businessman connected with the loan fraud that help caused a Blanchardville bank to fail in 2003 pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court.
Dennis Said, 63, of Blanchardville in Lafayette County, who owned a used vehicle business in Blanchardville known as Trucks 4 U, admitted to writing worthless checks when Mark Hardyman, former president of the First National Bank of Blanchardville called Said asking for money to cover overdrafts in Said's checking accounts.
"The first time Mark called me I had $30,000 to deposit, but he said I needed $60,000 more. Mark said to make out a credit card check as a payment and deposit it," Said told District Judge Barbara Crabb.
While Said's overdrafts mounted in 2002-03, he deposited 27 worthless checks or checks written on closed credit card accounts payable to him totaling $15.05 million, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Grant Johnson.
The deposits were made to fraudulently reduce the substantial overdrafts in Said's accounts, and the amount of money mushroomed as he kept depositing more bad checks to cover previously deposited bad checks, Johnson said.
Hardyman, 52, who is serving a nine-year sentence imposed in July 2006 after pleading guilty to bank fraud, timed some of the calls to Said to cover banks audits, said Johnson.
Said also pleaded guilty to loan fraud in connection to providing false statements to obtain a USDA loan in March 2003, which he used to buy property.
Said fraudulently received $6.13 million in loans from the FNBB and defaulted on some leaving a $3.78 million loss to the bank. Said's overdrafts resulted in a $251,010 loss to the bank, according to documents filed with the court. He was indicted in February on 39 counts of check and loan fraud.
Johnson said the government would not prosecute Said's wife, who Johnson declined to mention by name, in connection with the case as Said forged her signature on some bank documents. However, the investigation remains open and the government may seek indictments against more individuals, Johnson said.
Said faces maximum statutory penalties of 30 years in prison, a $1 million fine and restitution to be determined at his Oct. 23 sentencing. Crabb continued Said's release on bail.
Former owner of the Dells Motor Speedway, Bryan J. Severson, of Blanchardville, was sentenced in February to 11 years and eight months in prison for his involvement in fraudulent FNBB loans totaling $7.136 million.
Federal auditors closed the FNBB on May 7, 2003 when it had deposits of $29 million and assets of $35 million. The FDIC paid out $13 million to those who had deposits of $100,000 or less. About $2.4 million was in accounts that exceeded FDIC insurance coverage, a FDIC spokesman has said.
