A former North Georgia bank CEO has consented to being barred from the industry for undisclosed allegations of wrongdoing, federal regulators reported Friday.
Tracy Newton, former chief executive of the failed Appalachian Community Bank and its parent company, accepted the ban without admitting or denying the undisclosed allegations. The order was dated Dec. 20.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said in an order that it has “reason to believe” Newton was involved in “violations of law and/or unsafe or unsound banking practices and/or breaches of fiduciary duty” at Appalachian Community.
A message left for Newton was not immediately returned.
Appalachian Community, based in Ellijay 80 miles north of Atlanta, failed in March 2010. A related federally chartered savings bank, known as Appalachian Community FSB, failed in December 2010.
In November 2009, the parent company Appalachian Bancshares announced Newton and two other officers were placed on leave pending an investigation into possible violations of bank policy involving foreclosed real estate. Newton resigned the following month.
It is not clear if the probes into the foreclosure allegations are related to the FDIC’s order. An FDIC spokesman declined comment about the order, citing agency policy.
Also Friday, in a separate action, a former executive with Citizens Bank and Trust of West Georgia consented to a similar prohibition order and agreed to a $10,000 civil money penalty. The FDIC did not disclose specific allegations against Connie F. Greene.
Citizens-West Georgia now operates as Synovus Financial Corp.-affiliate Bank of North Georgia.
Greene neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing in accepting the order. A message left for Greene was not immediately returned.
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