Nebraska Farmers Lose Farms To Foreclosure; Ex-Bank President Under Indictment

A recent story in The Grand Island Independent (Grand Island, Nebraska) tells the stories of two Nebraska farmers, each of whom lost their family farm to foreclosure, allegedly due to unethical conduct committed by former Gibbon Exchange Bank President Scott Hobson in the course of his employment at the bank.

Hobson is currently under Federal indictment facing eight counts of fraud, four counts of making false entries in books, reports and statements of the Gibbon Exchange Bank, and one count of making a false statement to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. An excerpt from the story:

• According to the indictment, Hobson entered into loan agreements and loaned money to inflate his own loan portfolio with the bank. When the loans weren't paid, he took money out of third parties' accounts, without their knowledge, and made payments on creditors' loans. Hobson is also charged with falsifying documents to cover up the transactions.

• The indictment lists [both farmers] as victims, saying Hobson either made transactions on their accounts without their knowledge or executed false financial statements for loan collateral.

A pretrial conference in the case is scheduled for this Friday, where it is expected that either a trial date or a time for a plea agreement will be set. For more, see Families say banker's unethical practices cost them their land.

For a copy of the grand jury indictment, see Indictment - U.S. v. Hobson.