A federal grand jury in the Western District of Oklahoma returned an indictment charging the former President and Chief Executive Officer of the First National Bank of Lindsay for his role in a conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, making false entries in the books and records of a financial institution, obstructing the examination of a financial institution and failing to implement an anti-money laundering programme.
According to the indictment, Danny Seibel, 54, of Lindsay, Oklahoma, served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the First National Bank of Lindsay from in or about February 2007 until his termination in September 2024.
Seibel also held other management roles at the bank during that time, including Chief Financial Officer and Bank Secrecy Act Officer.
As alleged, Seibel caused the bank to issue loans to certain customers, many of whom were his personal friends and neighbours, that the borrowers never repaid.
Seibel then allegedly manipulated the bank’s records and falsified various bank reports to overstate loan performance, including by using new loans or transfers of the bank’s own funds to cover overdrafts on outstanding loans.
The indictment alleges that Seibel frequently modified bank records to conceal this activity from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), which was the bank’s federal regulator, as well as from the bank’s Board of Directors and others.
During the summer of 2024, when the OCC was conducting an onsite examination at the bank, Seibel allegedly provided OCC staff with a false document that concealed hundreds of changes that Seibel had made to loan data.
The indictment also alleges that Seibel failed to implement an anti-money laundering program at the bank as required by the Bank Secrecy Act.
For example, Seibel allegedly failed to file any suspicious activity reports on his own fraudulent scheme, and he advised Bank customers to make cash deposits below $10,000 to avoid relevant reporting requirements.
The OCC appointed a receiver for the bank in October 2024.
If convicted, Seibel faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.
