OKLAHOMA CITY – The alleged co-conspirator in a fraud scheme that led to the collapse of a bank in Lindsay was indicted Wednesday in federal district court here on eight felony counts.
Shaun U. Christian, 57, of Lindsay, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, four counts of bank fraud, and three counts of money laundering – apparently to support a gambling habit.
Christian and Danny Seibel, 55, are blamed for the collapse of the now-defunct First National Bank of Lindsay.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency closed FNBL on Oct. 18, 2024, after uncovering “false and deceptive bank records suggesting fraud, which the OCC reported led to depletion of the bank’s capital. The bank failure cost the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s Insurance Fund an estimated $43 million.
The FDIC was named receiver of FNBL, and the bank’s insured deposits were transferred to First Bank & Trust Co. in Duncan. According to the FDIC, First Bank & Trust agreed to assume the Lindsay bank’s insured deposits at a premium of 6.67% and purchased approximately $20 million of the failed bank’s assets. The FDIC retained the remaining assets for future disposition.
Christian was an FNBL customer and an associate of Seibel, who formerly was the president and chief executive officer of FNBL.
Christian “owned, operated, controlled, or was otherwise associated with several automotive businesses in and around the Lindsay area,” the indictment relates. Seibel handled all relevant FNBL loans issued to Christian’s businesses, federal investigators reported.
For almost four and a half years, from Feb. 25, 2020, through Sept. 20, 2024, Christian and Seibel “conspired to commit bank fraud,” the indictment alleges.
Seibel issued loans to Christian that Christian either never repaid or for which Seibel never recorded any payments, federal investigators discovered. Seibel is accused of manipulating bank records related to Christian’s accounts to conceal overdrafts and past-due balances.
At meetings held by FNBL’s board of directors and executive loan committee, Seibel “failed to disclose the true extent of Christian’s overdrafts or past-due loans, grossly misstating the amount of loans that FNBL issued and failed to collect from Christian – by millions of dollars,” the indictment claims.
Christian signed several loan agreements with FNBL “in which he represented that he (or a business associated with him)” would use the funds “for business purposes, typically to purchase vehicles or other equipment.” Instead, he “spent nearly all of the funds at casinos or withdrew them in cash at casinos,” the indictment alleges. The alleged scheme continued until shortly before FNBL’s failure. If convicted, Christian faces
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