Jail time for two former bankers in fraud case

Two former executives at Bank of Oswego in Lake Oswego, Ore., will serve jail time after being convicted of bank fraud and falsifying records.

In November, a jury convicted the executives, Dan Heine and Diana Yates, each of one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and 12 counts of falsifying bank entries, reports and transactions.

Prosecutors argued that Heine and Yates hid the true financial condition of the bank from regulators and the board by falsely claiming that delinquent loans were paid and erroneously reporting the sale of bank owned property. They also falsely claimed the bank had a title to a property in a straw buyer transaction, according to prosecutors.

The allegations involved “one of the largest and most complex bank fraud schemes in Oregon’s history,” Billy Williams, U.S. attorney for the District of Oregon, said in a press release Wednesday.

Heine was a co-founder of the bank and served as president and CEO from September 2004 through September 2014. He was sentenced to two years in federal prison.

Yates served as chief financial officer and secretary of the board from 2004 to March 2012. She was sentenced to 18 months.

A forfeiture and restitution hearing is scheduled for August.

The $5.4 billion-asset HomeStreet in Seattle purchased most of the assets and deposits of the $57 million-asset Bank of Oswego in 2016. The deal included Bank of Oswego’s two branches.

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