Former Tennessee Commerce exec charged with lying to regulators

A former executive at Tennessee Commerce Bank executive has been charged with providing false information to one of the bank’s regulators.

The Office of the Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program said in a press release Tuesday that Lamar Cox, Tennessee Commerce’s former chief operating officer, allegedly helped orchestrate a “posting error” in 2009 that allowed the bank to understate losses tied to the sale of foreclosed properties.

The bank reported a $270,000 loss from selling $4 million of foreclosed properties, when it actually lost $710,000, the release said.

Tennessee Commerce failed in 2012. Republic Bancorp in Louisville, Ky., assumed the Franklin banks deposits and bought $203.9 million of its assets.

Cox faces a fine of up to $1 million and 30 years in prison. Efforts to reach Cox through his lawyer were unsuccessful.

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