Columbus man sentenced in $648,000 agri-business loan scam in Perry, feds say
A former loan officer from Columbus who defrauded banks out of $648,000 in loans to fake farmers will spend more than three years in federal prison.
U.S. District Judge Marc T. Treadwell of Macon sentenced 33-year-old William Spigener III to serve 40 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud a financial institution.
The judge Wednesday also ordered Spigener to pay $474,148 in restitution to AgGeorgia Farm Credit and $174,489 to AgSouth Farm Credit.
Spigener’s accomplices in the scheme, Johnnie Farrow, 66; Eary Fuller, 57; and Demetria Bell, 50; all of Macon, also have been convicted of conspiracy to defraud a financial institution. They have not yet been sentenced.
Federal investigators said Spigener from February 2012 to 2019 was a loan officer in Perry, where he conspired to defraud AgSouth Farm Credit and AgGeorgia Farm Credit by recruiting his codefendants to pose as legitimate borrowers.
In exchange for using their personal information and having them attend loan closings, Spigener gave Farrow, Fuller and Bell about 10% of the loans, agents said.
Though Spigener created documents to ensure the loan applications were approved, his cohorts in the scheme were not working farmers and had no collateral to secure the loans, authorities said.
Spigener repaid a portion of the loans, but could not pay off “the vast majority” of the debt, causing losses to both institutions, the feds said.
This story was originally published March 17, 2022 at 10:45 AM with the headline "Columbus man sentenced in $648,000 agri-business loan scam in Perry, feds say."