Another 20-Year Sentence for Bank Fraud

The former chairman of the board of E.S. Bankest received a 20-year prison term for his role in the $164-million fraud, the same sentence received by his brother, who was president of the factoring company.  According to a press release issued by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida (here):

Evidence at trial showed that E.S. Bankest, a factoring company in the business of funding clients secured by clients’ accounts receivable, borrowed multi-millions of dollars of money from Espirito Santo Bank clients based on fraud, including fabricated accounts receivable; Espirito Santo Group eventually took the debt positions of the clients, and absorbed the loss. The indictment charged a conspiracy from approximately June, 1994, until August, 2003, when an examiner was appointed by the federal court to look into the affairs of the company, which collapsed.

(ph)