United States v. Bruce

909 F. Supp. 1034, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18815, 1995 WL 759012
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Ohio
DecidedDecember 14, 1995
DocketNo. 5:94CR0305
StatusPublished

This text of 909 F. Supp. 1034 (United States v. Bruce) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Bruce, 909 F. Supp. 1034, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18815, 1995 WL 759012 (N.D. Ohio 1995).

Opinion

SENTENCING ORDER

ANN ALDRICH, District Judge.

Glenn Bruce was a shareholder, director, and the executive vice-president of Crestline Building & Loan Association (CBL), a financial institution in Crestline, Ohio, which failed in 1992. A federal grand jury returned a 77-count indictment against Bruce for his role in the collapse of CBL. Bruce pled guilty to this Court to six counts of making false statements to a federal government agency (specifically, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati (FHLBOC) and the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS)) in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001, and one count of making false statements to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1007. The remaining counts are to be dismissed at the time of sentencing.

Bruce is now before the Court for a determination of his sentence. A presentence investigation report (PSR) was prepared, to which Bruce raises several objections. Bruce objects to the amount of the loss attributed to his conduct under the sentencing guidelines and to the conclusion.that he substantially jeopardized the soundness of CBL. He also requests a downward departure. On October 16 and 17, 1995, this Court held a hearing and received evidence on these issues. For the reasons set forth below, Bruce is sentenced to 38 months incarceration, five years supervised release, $1,820,254.48 in restitution, 500 hours of community service, and a special assessment of $350.

I.

The basic facts are not disputed. Bruce served as the executive vice president and managing officer of CBL. He was also a shareholder and a director. He was responsible for the day-to-day .operations of the bank, and the bank employees all reported to him, either directly or indirectly.

When CBL’s loan customers had difficulty repaying their loans, they were directed to Bruce. In particular, he handled the loan accounts of 26 of CBL’s most delinquent customers. The uncontroverted evidence introduced at the hearing showed that he made numerous false entries in the loan account records of these borrowers.

For example, he would often have bank employees delete from the computer the interest principal due on the loan. In addition, Bruce would often capitalize the interest on these loans. In other words, he would add the interest due to the unpaid principal, so that the records would not reflect any overdue interest owed. As a result, the loan would not appear to be delinquent.-

Bruce also rolled over delinquent loans into new loans. This entailed Bruce writing a new loan for a delinquent borrower for the total amount of principal and interest owing on the old debt. The customer would then use the proceeds from the new loan to pay off the old loan. In this way, delinquent loans were made to look current while the size of the debt kept increasing.

The effect of these false entries in the loan history records of these delinquent borrowers was to mislead bank examiners as to the actual financial status of CBL, because the delinquent loans were not properly classified as such. As a result, the loans were not properly charged off, the losses were not recognized, and sufficient reserves were not set aside. In addition, the false records were used to prepare quarterly reports to the FHLBOC and OTS. These reports were false and misleading.

Bruce also issued loans that were not adequately secured, i.e., the value of the collateral was less than the amount of the loan. If and when these loans became delinquent, the bank could not recoup the full amount due by foreclosing on the collateral, and had to take a loss.

The Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) conducted a review of CBL’s books, ending on September 25, 1990. It discovered some of these irregularities, although not their full extent. Following this examination, OTS and CBL entered into a supervisory agreement, dated July 10, 1991 (Gov.Ex. 3). The [1039]*1039supervisory agreement required CBL to improve its recordkeeping and documentation and to get approval from the OTS before issuing loans for commercial real estate, speculative residential construction, lines of credit, and consumer loans of more than $25,000. CBL also agreed to establish an independent asset review committee and develop a business plan to address the reported deficiencies.

The OTS examined CBL again in May of 1992. At this point, it was determined that CBL was failing and had insufficient capital to continue operating as a viable financial institution. After attempts were made to find a buyer for the bank, the Resolution Trust Corporation (ETC) assumed control of CBL. Bruce resigned from CBL on June 5, 1992.

CBL’s own financial statements for the years 1991 and 1992, as well as the report prepared by the RTC, show that CBL lost approximately $3,400,000 when the delinquent loans were properly charged off in 1992. CBL’s net assets fell from $1,300,000 to a negative $2,100,000.

The evidence at, the hearing also revealed that Bruce is very highly regarded by his family and in the small community of Crest-line. He has been married for 34 years, and has two children. He is very active in his church as a co-chairman of the financial committee and a deacon. The many character witnesses he called all described him as caring and compassionate. In fact, they maintained that if he had a flaw, it was that he was too compassionate. The Court has received a large number of letters from residents of Crestline urging the minimum sentence.

Bruce has also been active as a firefighter and EMT in Crestline. He started as a volunteer, and then moved to a full-time position after losing his job at CBL. He is credited with risking his own life to save the life of a gunshot victim, and he suffered a severe back injury when he was knocked off a ladder in the line of duty. He also has been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation.

The former employees of CBL who testified painted a somewhat less flattering picture of Bruce. They described him as dictatorial and prone to loud, angry outbursts, in which he would insult employees, slam doors and phones, and threaten to fire those who disagreed with his decisions. In addition, they stated that the employees were all somewhat in fear of him.

II.

Prior to the hearing, a PSR was prepared, which made the following findings. The base offense level for all the counts to which Bruce pled guilty is six. United States Sentencing Commission, Guidelines Manual, § 2Fl.l(a) (Nov. 1994). The parties agree to a two-level enhancement for more than minimal planning, U.S.S.G. § 2Fl.l(b)(2), making the net offense level eight. The report concludes that Bruce’s actions caused a loss to Crestline of approximately $3,400,000. Such a loss would result in a 13-level enhancement, making the new net offense level 21. U.S.S.G. § 2Fl.l(b)(l)(N). Finally, the PSR concludes that Bruce’s conduct “substantially jeopardized the safety and soundness of a financial institution.” U.S.S.G. § 2Fl.l(b)(6). This further increases, the net offense level by four, to 25. Id.1

In addition, the parties agree to a two-level enhancement for abuse of a position of private trust, U.S.S.G. § 3B1.3, raising the offense level to 27. The parties also agree on a three-level reduction for acceptance of responsibility. U.S.S.G.

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909 F. Supp. 1034, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18815, 1995 WL 759012, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-bruce-ohnd-1995.