The lawyer for a Stockbridge bank that failed more than two years ago was arraigned Friday on federal charges he conspired with two former bank executives in a scheme that led to the collapse.
A superseding indictment charges Robert E. Maloney Jr., 47, of McDonough and two former top officers of FirstCity Bank -- Mark A. Conner, 45, formerly of Canton, and Clayton A. Coe, 44, of McDonough -- with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and related crimes.
State and federal authorities seized the bank on March 20, 2009.
A federal grand jury in Atlanta returned the superseding indictment against Maloney, Conner and Coe on June 22. The grand jury previously returned an indictment against Conner and Coe on March 16. Arraignments for Conner and Coe on the superseding indictment have been scheduled for July 1.
Maloney was FirstCity's lawyer from 2006 to 2009. He is alleged to have taken extra payments in the form of “legal fees” from fraudulent transactions while drawing a salary from the bank. He also allegedly helped launder and distribute funds to or for the benefit of Conner, Coe and other co-conspirators, or to himself, through an attorney trust account maintained at the bank.
“As the bank's top legal officer, Maloney maintained a position of trust within the bank and had a special duty to prevent and detect misconduct," said Christy L. Romero, acting special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
"The indictment alleges that Maloney violated his important gatekeeper responsibilities and conspired with Conner and Coe in a criminal scheme that victimized unwitting federally-insured banks who invested millions of dollars into fraudulent loans,” Romero said.
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