Former bank CEO must pay $1.6 million in restitution
A federal court sentenced the former CEO and president of First National Bank in Waupaca Wednesday.
Archie Overby, 71, entered a guilty plea to misapplication of funds by a bank officer.
According to curt records, Overby admitted that starting by 2010 and continuing through 2013, he caused the bank to pay for $1.6 million in travel, entertainment and other personal expenses for himself, family members, friends and associates.
The expenses included airfare, lodging and a climbing expedition to Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, as well as stays at a spa in Arizona and in villas in St. Maarten.
The criminal case followed a civil action by the Office of the Comptroller of Currency (OCC), the bank’s federal regulator.
That case, which Overby settled in 2017, resulted in his agreement to pay $1.6 million in restitution and a $100,000 penalty.
After the settlement, however, Overby asserted he had admitted no wrongdoing and “never would.”
He described the regulator as “overzealous,” claimed to be the victim, and alleged that the regulator improperly had sought to “tarnish his reputation.”
As part of his guilty plea, Overby acknowledged not only his criminal conduct but also that the OCC had acted properly and within the bounds of its authority.
Noting Overby’s age and health issues, as well as the potential for exposure to COVID-19, U.S. District Court Judge William Griesbach said sentencing Overby to prison could amount to a death sentence.
Restitution
Instead, Griesbach ordered Overby to pay $1.6 million in restitution and forfeit $146,023 to the United States.
Griesbach noted Overby’s criminal conduct, which had gone on for years, was serious and hard to understand, particularly in light of the fact that Overby had been “so well compensated.”
Griesbach concluded it was a betrayal of trust that could only be attributed to “greed and callous disregard for others.”
“For years, Archie Overby used his position and authority to treat himself and his family to lavish vacations and to use the financial institution he oversaw as his personal piggy bank,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew Krueger. “When caught, he tried to portray himself as a victim.”
Formerly of Waupaca, Overby currently lives in Parker, Texas.