Wilbur Tate III, a former assistant vice president of United States Bank in Ohio, was arrested Wednesday on a federal criminal complaint charging him with conspiracy to commit bank bribery in a case involving Oxford Collection Agency, according to David B. Fein, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
Oxford was a private financial services company involved in accounts receivables management, mostly debt collecting, with offices in New York, Pennsylvania and Florida. Between 2007 and 2011, Oxford executives engaged in a multi-year scheme to defraud its lender, investors and clients, according to court documents filed in various cases.
Tate, 48, who lives in Georgia, was in charge of outsourcing accounts to collection agencies - including Oxford. According to Fein, starting in August 2008 and continuing for more than two years, Oxford executives engaged in a bribery scheme with Tate to obtain and retain the business of United States Bank.
As part of the scheme, Oxford executives initially provided Tate with boxes of expensive cigars and subsequently sent Tate monthly cash payments between $2,500 and $5,000, which were hidden in cigar boxes and mailed to Tate’s residence in Mason, Ohio.
Tate, who worked as the bank's assistant vice president between January 2004 and February 2011, appeared Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Linda T Walker in Atlanta and was released on a $50,000 bond.
Earlier this month, Richard Pinto, 68, chairman of the board and de facto head of Oxford between January 2007 and March 2011, was
Last May, Pinto and his son, Peter Pinto, 37, of East Quogue, N.Y.,
