Michael Joseph Erikson, a former officer of Southern Bancorp Bank (Arkadelphia, Ark.) sentenced earlier this year for embezzlement, is prohibited from ever again working in a federally insured financial institution without prior approval of the Federal Reserve Board, according to a consent order released by the Fed Thursday.
The Department of Justice filed an information against Erickson on Sept. 20, 2018, with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi charging Erickson with one count of bank embezzlement. Erickson pleaded guilty. He was sentenced this February to two years in prison followed by three years of supervised release, according to the DoJ. He was also ordered to pay $1,462,030.31 in restitution to Southern Bancorp Bank.
According to the DoJ, the holding company of Southern Bancorp Bank received $33.8 million in funds in August 2010 through the Community Development Capital Initiative of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). “As a part of his plea, Erickson admitted to using his position as a bank officer to embezzle bank funds for his own benefit and generate fraudulent loans for the benefit of himself and others,” the DoJ release said.
Federal Reserve Board issues enforcement action with former employee of Southern Bancorp Bank