Ex-director of Heartland Tri-State Bank Accused of stealing Clients money for crypto investments

[Teacher]

The former executive director of Heartland Tri-State Bank has been charged with embezzlement of customer funds. A top manager used the stolen money to invest in cryptocurrency, according to US law enforcement officials.

Shane Haynes transferred $47.1 million to crypto assets. Documents from the federal court of Kansas do not make it clear what kind of assets they are talking about, but it is said that the former executive director is involved in other financial fraud.

Since 2022, the defendant has invested in digital currencies not only the funds of Heartland Tri-State Bank customers, but also the money of the Kansas Christian Church. The court documents allege that the defendant applied for a $12 million loan to businessman Brian Mitchell. Sean Hayes asked for a loan to withdraw funds from his investment in cryptocurrency, promising to return it in ten days, offered interest on $1 million. But he didn't fulfill his promise.

Due to the financial operations of the executive director of Heartland, Tri-State Bank was forced to announce its closure. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has returned funds to the bank's affected customers.

Earlier, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that the number of fraudulent projects pretending to be neural networks and using artificial intelligence to steal cryptocurrencies has increased in the financial market.

 

[Friend]

A Kansas state court has sentenced the former director of the bankrupt Kansas Heartland Tri-State Bank (HTSB) to 293 months in prison for embezzlement of customer funds.

According to the US Department of Justice, from May to July 2023, 53-year-old Shan Hanes made 11 outgoing bank transfers totaling $47.1 million.

Given that HTSB was insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the loss of $47.1 million of customers was covered. However, these monetary losses were the direct cause of the bank's collapse and subsequent closure, resulting in investors suffering losses of $9 million, according to court documents.

"Haynes greed knew no bounds. He violated his professional obligations and federal law. Haynes not only deceived investors. With his illegal actions, he has jeopardized people's trust in financial institutions. As a director, the defendant was obliged to conduct business honestly, but instead abused his authority and committed insider fraud, causing catastrophic losses to the bank's customers who relied on their savings," said U.S. Attorney Kate Brubacher.