President of a Gray bank pleads guilty to bank fraud charge, sentenced to prison
The former market president of Morris Bank in Gray will serve a year and a day in prison for bank fraud, according to Melissa Hodges, spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia.
Alan Childs was sentenced Monday by Judge Marc Treadwell after he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud on April 16, which stems from an investigation into one of his clients, Ronnie Atkinson, who cashed out more than $3 million in loans, according to court records. The courtroom was filled with his friends, family and supporters.
Hodges confirmed Tuesday that Childs’ prison sentence will be followed by three years of supervised release and a $10,000 fine.
Atkinson pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft on May 12. Although his sentencing was originally scheduled for early August, court records indicate that it has been rescheduled for Dec. 2.
Childs defended Atkinson when higher-ups found loan issues
Childs, who was market president for the Morris Bank branch in Gray from March 2018 to August 2022, had lending authority up to $500,000 per customer. If the customer requested loans beyond the limit, the loan would have to be approved by a senior credit officer, according to federal prosecutors.
Atkinson, of Ronnnie Atkinson Logging, obtained his first loan on March 18 to purchase equipment. By June 2019, Atkinson had already reached the maximum threshold and “thus, defendant was not allowed to make any additional loans to or for the benefit of (Atkinson) without higher approval,” federal prosecutors argued.
Childs had notified Atkinson that he had reached the limit for him to approve, but suggested that a family member could get a loan for him, according to Atkinson’s court testimony.
Because Atkinson wouldn’t pay back the loans, the loans were identified as substandard, which displayed a weakness that could jeopardize the collection of the loans. Morris Bank policy indicated that renewals, modifications or extensions of loans above $50,000 graded substandard or worse required approval by a credit administration officer, federal prosecutors said.
However, from August 2019 through May 2022, he would bring in relatives and friends to appear as borrowers of loans from Morris Bank, but the loans were intended for Atkinson’s benefit, according to federal prosecutors. Childs would provide the loans to Atkinson’s family and friends without the required approval.
Childs was contacted by the credit administrative officer of Morris Bank on March 23, 2021, telling him that his customer relationship with Atkinson had exceeded $500,000, according to federal prosecutors. They had found other loans tied to Atkinson, which totaled $1.6 million. However, the list they calculated “did not include all of the loans that were related to (Atkinson’s) relationship,” federal prosecutors said.
Childs had told them that “the loans were not all related because they had their own repayment sources and should therefore not be considered the same relationship,” according to federal prosecutors.
Despite the notification from the higher-ups, Childs continued to grant loans to Atkinson’s friends and relatives, though the loans suffered delinquency issues. Childs eventually let Atkinson borrow over $3 million up until August 2022.
