A Georgia banker got more than three years in prison for converting foreclosed properties into his own rental income and real-estate portfolio.
William “Rusty” Beamon was supposed to be leasing the property on behalf of Appalachian Community Bank in Ellijay where he was a vice president in charge of foreclosures, said Acting U.S. Attorney John Horn in an emailed-statement.
Beamon, 43, instead collected more than $20,000 and deposited the money in his own bank account rather than using it to bolster the bank’s financial stability. The Ellijay bank closed in March 2010 because of its poor financial condition, Horn said.
“Georgia leads the nation in bank failures since 2008, with 88 banks failing—including Appalachian Community Bank, the bank this defendant defrauded,” Horn said. “These failures significantly affect the economy, making these cases important to safeguard the nation’s financial health.”
Bank-owned properties were also sold to his wife and to a shell company that he controlled — “all at prices that were substantially below what other buyers were ready, willing, and able to pay the bank,” according to Horn’s statement.
Beamon, of Atlanta, was convicted in January. He was sentenced to three years, six months in federal prison, to be followed by five years on supervised release following his prison term, a $500 special assessment, and forfeiture of all real properties involved in the offense.
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