Media reports out of Mt. Vernon, IL say a former vice president and loan officer for Community First Bank of the Heartland, based in Mt. Vernon, who committed bank fraud and several arsons has been sentenced in federal court in Benton to 12 years in prison. The sentence was handed down this past Thursday.
53-year-old Richard Pigg had previously pled guilty to six counts of bank fraud and three counts of arson in April of this year. Pigg lived in Mt. Vernon, Il at the time of the alleged conduct from May 2011 to December 2016. He has since moved to Texas.
During his sentencing, Pigg was described as having a “Jekyll and Hyde” personality, who destroyed people’s lives with his horrific fraud. Pigg had relied on letters of support citing his good works, but the judge compared the actions to someone who robbed a bank, gave some of the money to a homeless shelter, then burned down the homeless shelter and wanted credit for the donation.
Prosecutors said over $600,000 was taken from the First Community Bank of the Heartland to purchase investment properties and pay personal expenses. Pigg had burned several properties in an attempt to use insurance benefits to pay off bank loans, including a property in Centralia, IL. As part of the scheme, Pigg assured his victims that he would secure the tenants, collect rent and maintain the properties.
Pigg will have to serve at least 85 percent of his prison sentence under Truth in Sentencing guidelines. He will serve three years supervised release after he gets out of prison.