July enforcements at FDIC included $20k penalty against former MO banker

Three civil money penalties and two prohibition orders were among the nine July enforcement actions announced Friday by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC).

The FDIC said Brian J. Berhorst, formerly the chief executive officer of Mid America Bank Jefferson City, Mo., was assessed a $20,000 civil money penalty over alleged breaches of fiduciary duty. The FDIC said Berhorst from October 2014 to December 2017 failed to inform the bank of his pre-existing personal lending relationship with at least nine applicants for bank loans or to recuse himself from approving bank loans to these borrowers; failed to disclose the borrowers’ existing liabilities owed to him during the loan approval process; and, in at least one case, directed that a substantial portion of a borrower’s bank loan payment be applied instead to his personal loan to the borrower.

Farmers Bank and Trust of Great Bend, Kan., and Chillicothe State Bank of Chillicothe, Mo., were assessed penalties of $9,500 and $4,000, respectively, over alleged violations of the Flood Disaster Protection Act, the agency said.

The two prohibition orders barred the following individuals from any future participation in the affairs of any federally insured financial institution:

  • Deborah K. Jenkins, a former branch manager at First Bank, Erick, Okla., is alleged to have made unauthorized withdrawals from customers’ accounts by using internal transfers between separate customers’ accounts and depositing the funds into her personal checking and savings accounts; and caused a loss to the bank.
  • Chelsea Maggard, a former Bancard representative (customer service representative) from 2016 through 2018 at American Bank & Trust Company, Opelousas, La., is alleged to have opened credit card accounts, raised credit account limits, and modified credit card account settings relating to interest and fees, all without appropriate authorization or authority.

The FDIC said it also in July issued three Section 19 orders, one order terminating consent order, and one notice of charges.

FDIC Makes Public July Enforcement Actions