WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Two former officials of the defunct Cypress Savings Association have been charged with making improper realty loans that caused the Fort Lauderdale institution to fail, the U.S. attorney's office said.
In a 16-count indictment by a federal grand jury in West Palm Beach, Loren Mintz and Carl Guffin were accused of making $24 million in improperly secured real estate loans to Seabridge Associates of Stuart, Fla.
Mr. Mintz, former president and chief executive officer, and Mr. Guffin, who was vice president and Palm City branch loan officer, also were accused of deceiving their board and federal bank examiners into believing that real estate development loans were secure and were being repaid.
Mr. Mintz also was charged with concealing and attempting to maintain control of Cypress Savings so that he and others could profit while preventing and delaying the thrift's seizure by regulators.
Cypress Savings was closed in November 1988. Founded in 1981, it was a prominent lender to developers during south Florida's condominium boom of the early 1980s.
