{"id":10448,"date":"2015-03-28T19:10:23","date_gmt":"2015-03-29T02:10:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=10448"},"modified":"2015-03-28T19:10:23","modified_gmt":"2015-03-29T02:10:23","slug":"banker-faces-up-to-145-years-in-prison-conviction-for-fraud-one-of-largest-arising-from-2008-financial-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=10448","title":{"rendered":"Banker Faces Up to 145 Years in Prison, Conviction for Fraud One of Largest Arising from 2008 Financial Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Justice-Depart\"<\/a>OAKLAND<\/strong>\u2014A jury convicted Ebrahim Shabudin<\/strong> \u00a0last week\u00a0of seven felony counts of conspiracy, securities fraud, and other corporate fraud offenses stemming from the failure of United Commercial Bank, authorities said Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cUCB is one of the largest criminal prosecutions brought by the United States Department of Justice of wrongdoing by bank officers arising out of the 2008 financial crisis,\u201d U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag<\/strong> stated.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith actual losses exceeding a half a billion dollars, the prosecution of Shabudin and other senior officers at UCB is one of the most significant financial fraud cases in the history of the Northern District of California.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Shabudin is facing up to 145 years in prison and up to $16,7 million in fines and assessments. Sentencing is set for June.<\/p>\n

Shabudin, 66, of Moraga, Calif., was the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Credit Officer at United Commercial Bank in 2008 and 2009. Shabudin was the second most senior officer in executive management at United Commercial Bank after former Chief Executive Officer Thomas Shiu-Kit (\u201cTommy\u201d) Wu.<\/strong><\/p>\n

On November 6, 2009, UCB was taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (\u201cFDIC\u201d), according to authorities.<\/p>\n

With over $10.9 billion in assets, UCB\u2019s failure was the ninth largest failure since 2007 of a bank insured by the FDIC\u2019s Deposit Insurance Fund, according to the FDIC.<\/p>\n

In 2013, FDIC estimated that total losses for UCB would exceed $1.1 billion.<\/p>\n

Through 2014, however, with the recovery of the U.S. economy, FDIC now estimates the loss to the Deposit Insurance Fund to be approximately $677 million, officials said.<\/p>\n

On Nov.14, 2008, the Troubled Asset Relief Program or TARP provided about $298 million in federal funds to United Commercial Bank during the financial crisis.<\/p>\n

Late Thursday, a jury found Shabudin guilty of conspiring with others within the bank to falsify key bank records as part of a scheme to conceal millions of dollars in losses and falsely inflate the bank\u2019s financial statements, officials said.<\/p>\n

Among the records falsified were those filed with the U.S.Securities and Exchange Commission or SEC and FDIC related to the third and fourth quarters of 2008 describing UCB\u2019s so-called Allowance for Loan Losses, according to authorities.<\/p>\n

Also falsified were documents relating to UCB\u2019s quarterly and year-end earnings per share as announced by the bank to the investing public. The guilty verdict followed a six-week jury trial.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe federal jury\u2019s decision to convict Ebrahim Shabudin marks the third criminal conviction of a United Commercial Bank officer,\u201d said Christy Romero, Special Inspector General for TARP.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Adding, \u201cAfter receiving TARP in November 2008, UCB failed about a year later, leaving $298 million in losses on taxpayers\u2019 TARP investment in the bank.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The jury convicted Shabudin of the following seven crimes Thursday by their verdict:<\/strong><\/p>\n