Department of Justice
United States Attorney John C. Richter
Western District of Oklahoma
November 30, 2007
CONTACT: Bob Troester
405/553-8999
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma - John C. Richter, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma, announced today that a jury has found Daniel J. Bowling, 52, from Tonkawa, Oklahoma, guilty of defrauding Farmers Exchange Bank of Tonkawa, Oklahoma.
At trial, evidence showed that Bowling obtained cattle loans from Farmers Exchange Bank in the total amount of $904,134 and pledged cattle as collateral for those loans. From February 2005 through January 2006 the defendant disposed of his cattle at numerous sales barns in Oklahoma and Kansas. The defendant sold his cattle in the names of his Mother and college aged son, knowing that the cattle were collateral pledged to FEB. The proceeds from the sale of the cattle were used for the defendant =s own purposes and not applied to his loans at FEB as required by the terms of the loan and security agreement. Evidence was presented that the defendant use proceeds from the sale of his cattle to make margin calls on his commodities trading account.
“Many ranchers depend heavily on local banks and financial institutions to assist them in meeting their short and long-term financial needs,” said U.S. Attorney John C. Richter. “ When a criminal defrauds one of these banks, the fraud not only can jeopardize the soundness of the financial institution, it can dry up potential credit sources for other ranchers. I hope the jury’s verdict in this case can serve as a general deterrent to anyone who might think of playing fast and loose with someone else’s money.”
At sentencing, Bowling faces up to 30 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine plus payment of mandatory restitution. The actual sentence will be determined by the Court at a hearing after a presentence report has been prepared and by application of the federal sentencing guidelines.
The case is a result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Vicki Zemp Behenna.