80-year-old man indicted for bank fraud

An 80-year-old Kearney man has been charged in a 26-count federal indictment relating to bank fraud.

Count one against Ray Van Norman states that on or about Jan. 1, 1997, through June 30, 2006, the Minden Exchange Bank & Trust Co. suffered an actual loss of $11,415 because Van Norman -- chief executive officer, chairman of the board of directors and primary loan officer -- defrauded the bank by creating fictitious lines of credit and then advancing money from the lines to pay down outstanding balances on poorly performing loans. The loans were related to various cattle feeding clubs, in which Van Norman had an interest, according to a press release from U.S. Attorney Joe Stecher.

The following information was also included:

Van Norman also renewed old loans and advanced new loans to unqualified borrowers. He's charged with falsifying financial statements, promissory notes, livestock inventory and appraisal reports to make the collateral appear to sufficient. He also concealed the true nature of the loans from the bank's regulatory authorities.

He's also charged with accepting promissory notes payable to himself from customers in exchange for unauthorized transfer of funds to the customers.

Counts two through 25 state that between May 2003 and June 2006, Van Norman made false statements on bank reports about the existence of livestock inventory as assets and collateral when he knew the collateral didn't exit.

Count 26 states that on Aug. 24, 1998, Van Norman embezzled and misapplied money, funds, assets and securities entrusted to the custody and care of the bank. He is charged with withdrawing $150,000 from the account of Kearney County Community Foundation and depositing the funds into an account in the name of L-V Farms, Inc., which was owned, in part, by Van Norman. The funds were used to pay down the loan of a balance of another bank customer.

He faces up to 30 years in prison, a $1 million fine, five years of supervised release and a $100 special assessment for each of the 26 counts.