FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) - A man and a bank officer have pleaded guilty in federal court in Fayetteville to engineering a $60,000 bribe that was paid in Las Vegas in exchange for a $6.2 million loan.
U.S. Attorney Connor Eldridge announced Tuesday that 41-year-old Christopher Lee Talley and 33-year-old William B. Hemm entered guilty pleas to conspiring to bribe a bank officer. Hemm was an officer at ANB Financial and also pleaded guilty to misapplication of bank funds.
A bill of information accused Hemm of using $82,500 out of the loan proceeds to rent a private jet that flew the men to Nevada. Prosecutors say Talley made the payoff to Hemm in Las Vegas.
The men face up to five years in prison for the conspiracy count. Hemm could get an additional 30 years.
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