A federal judge sentenced a former senior officer at the failed Omni National Bank of Atlanta to five years in prison for doctoring the books to obscure losses on bad loans the bank made.
Jeffrey Levine, 70, of Atlanta, must also pay nearly $6.8 million in restitution and will be under supervised release for five years after his release from prison as part of the sentence handed down Friday by U.S. District Judge J. Owen Forrester.
“I am profoundly ashamed for my behavior,” Levine said in court, his voice breaking. He originally faced up to 30 years in prison, but prior good works in the community and assistance with prosecutors helped reduce the sentence.
Levine, Omni’s co-founder and second-largest shareholder when the publicly traded bank folded, pleaded guilty in January 2010.
From 2000 to 2007, Levine was an executive vice president at Omni, which failed in March 2009.
Omni made short-term, high-interest loans -- often to borrowers with poor credit or lower incomes -- to rehab homes for quick re-sale or to be used as Section 8 housing.
Prosecutors said Omni, under Levine’s direction, cleared some foreclosures off its books by making loans to new buyers. Properties were sold at inflated prices and some foreclosures were never noted in the bank’s finances.
Such practices ultimately contributed to more than 500 foreclosures and another 500 soured loans, resulting in $7 million in losses to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Prosecutors said Levine mislead regulators and shareholders in the bank, whose investment was wiped out. Levine’s holdings in the bank also were erased.
Prosecutors credited Levine for assisting authorities in eight other financial criminal cases. Fulton County Superior Court Judge John Goger spoke on Levine’s behalf, saying Levine’s actions are not a true reflection of his friend of 30 years.
Forrester declined to reduce the sentence below the prosecution's recommendation, saying he wanted to send a message to other bad bankers who think they won't be caught.
Separately, one of Omni’s borrowers, Delroy Davy, 38, of Lithonia, was sentenced by Forrester to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty in March 2010 to charges related to a house flipping scheme. He was also ordered to pay more than $5.5 million in restitution. Prosecutors said he paid kickbacks to an Omni loan officer and defrauded investors.
