Ex-Virginia Bank Executive Pleads Guilty in $3Mln Fraud Schemes - Justice Dept.

Kirk Russel Marsh, a 39-year old former bank vice president in the US state of Virginia, forged the signatures of senior bank officers to cause the fraudulent issuance of over $1.25 million in loans to small businesses, according to the US Department of Justice.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Kirk Russel Marsh, a 39-year old former bank vice president in the US state of Virginia, pleaded guilty to fraud and identity theft as part of a scheme that caused over $3 million in losses, the US Department of Justice said in a press release on Thursday.

"At VCB [Virginia Commerce Bank], Marsh forged the signatures of senior bank officers to cause the fraudulent issuance of over $1.25 million in loans to small businesses" the release stated.

Marsh used the name and other identifying information of a former client at another bank, Fulton Bank, for a $1 million line of credit which he used to purchase a software company and make a down payment on a house.

He further made unauthorized withdraws on a $485,000 credit line of another client, the Justice Department said.

The release noted that both Virginia Commerce Bank and the parent company of Fulton Bank received money from the US Treasury in the Troubled Assets Relief Program, the program where the government purchased bad loans from US financial institutions that were hurt by the 2008 financial recession.

Marsh pleaded guilty to wire fraud, bank fraud and aggravated identity fraud. He will be sentenced on November 17 and faces up to 30 years in prison.