BENTON, IL (WSIL) -- Former vice president of Community First Bank of the Heartland, Richard Pigg, had confessed to six counts of bank fraud and three counts of arson in federal court Friday morning.
Information on the charges stems from a press release from the United States Department of Justice.
According to the document, Pigg had used his status as the vice president and loan officer to defraud more than $600,000 from the bank and use the stolen finances to pay for personal expenses and purchase investment properties.
Pigg's scheme included convincing customers of the bank to accept loans to buy rental properties in Centralia, Mt. Vernon, Murphysboro, and West Frankfort. Pigg did not reveal his intent to keep the interest off the loans for his own personal gain. Furthermore, Pigg would promise the customers that he would secure the tenants, collect rent, and maintain the properties for the customer.
Pigg had also increase the amount financed in the loan by thousands of dollars and pocketed the extra money to pay for his own debts.
U.S. Attorney Tachelle Aud Crowe spoke about Pigg's confession of committing bank fraud, stating:
“Richard Pigg not only used his professional position to deceive his victims and defraud the bank that employed him, he also risked the lives and safety of our heroic first responders when he chose to burn houses and apartment buildings to collect even more money he wasn’t entitled to... In this proven pattern of conniving and hazardous actions, I appreciate the work by our federal law enforcement partners to put an end to the defendant’s dangerous financial ploys.”
Pigg had committed two acts of arson in 2016 when he burned property in the Centralia area twice - once in January, where there was only partial damage, and again in February which resulted in a complete destruction of the property. Pigg ten used the insurance benefits from the infernos to pay off the loan on the destroyed properties.
The former vice president committed a third act of arson in 2016 in West Frankfort when he set ablaze a four-unit rental apartment complex.
Bernard Hansen, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Kansas City Field Division, shared his thoughts on the crime of arson:
“Arson is never a victimless crime, nor should we ever allow ourselves to think of it as such. The criminal use of fire, whether to conceal crime, intimidate, or as in this case, defraud others erodes trust in our institutions and endangers the lives of those who selflessly respond, day or night or extinguish the flames."
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BENTON, IL (WSIL) -- Former vice president of Community First Bank of the Heartland, Richard Pigg, had confessed to six counts of bank fraud and three counts of arson in federal court Friday morning.
Information on the charges stems from a press release from the United States Department of Justice.
According to the document, Pigg had used his status as the vice president and loan officer to defraud more than $600,000 from the bank and use the stolen finances to pay for personal expenses and purchase investment properties.
Pigg's scheme included convincing customers of the bank to accept loans to buy rental properties in Centralia, Mt. Vernon, Murphysboro, and West Frankfort. Pigg did not reveal his intent to keep the interest off the loans for his own personal gain. Furthermore, Pigg would promise the customers that he would secure the tenants, collect rent, and maintain the properties for the customer.
Pigg had also increase the amount financed in the loan by thousands of dollars and pocketed the extra money to pay for his own debts.
U.S. Attorney Tachelle Aud Crowe spoke about Pigg's confession of committing bank fraud, stating:
“Richard Pigg not only used his professional position to deceive his victims and defraud the bank that employed him, he also risked the lives and safety of our heroic first responders when he chose to burn houses and apartment buildings to collect even more money he wasn’t entitled to... In this proven pattern of conniving and hazardous actions, I appreciate the work by our federal law enforcement partners to put an end to the defendant’s dangerous financial ploys.”
Pigg had committed two acts of arson in 2016 when he burned property in the Centralia area twice - once in January, where there was only partial damage, and again in February which resulted in a complete destruction of the property. Pigg ten used the insurance benefits from the infernos to pay off the loan on the destroyed properties.
The former vice president committed a third act of arson in 2016 in West Frankfort when he set ablaze a four-unit rental apartment complex.
Bernard Hansen, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Kansas City Field Division, shared his thoughts on the crime of arson:
“Arson is never a victimless crime, nor should we ever allow ourselves to think of it as such. The criminal use of fire, whether to conceal crime, intimidate, or as in this case, defraud others erodes trust in our institutions and endangers the lives of those who selflessly respond, day or night or extinguish the flames."