BUFFALO, N.Y. – A former Vice President of M&T bank was sentenced to more than three years in prison for fraud on Wednesday.
Officials say 43-year-old, Michael Whipple from Williamsville caused M&T Bank to lose $5,332,397 starting in 2008.
Whipple created fraudulent "funding loans." The loans were created in the names of entities that were credit worth, and then the proceeds from the loans were given to entities of Whipple's choosing.
As a part of the scheme, Whipple forged signatures on loan documentation and had mail diverted to locations other than the credit worth clients' addresses to avoid detection.
When customers questions mistakes on their loan accounts, Whipple told them it was a bank error and it would be fixed.
Whipple also caused official checks drawn on M&T Bank to be created to fund the fraudulent loans.
In total, Whipple created 12 fake funding loans.
Whipple will spend 39 months in prison and is ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $5,332,397 and will be placed on supervised release for three years after release from incarceration.
