BENTON, Ill. -- A former vice president to the Community First Bank of the Heartland has been sentenced to a dozen years in prison.
The U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Illinois, reports Richard Pigg was sentenced to 12 years in prison for bank fraud and arsons on Thursday.
Earlier in April, Pigg pleaded guilty to six counts of bank fraud and three counts of arson in a federal court. He lived in the Mt. Vernon area at the time of the charged conduct from May 2011 to December 2016.
The judge in the case on Thursday descried Pigg as a "Jekyll and Hyde." The statement went on to say Pigg "destroyed people's lives with his horrific fraud. Pigg had relied on letters of support citing his good works, but the judge told Pigg that this was like a man who robs a bank, gives some of money to a homeless shelter, then burns the homeless shelter down and wants credit for donating to the homeless shelter."
"For more than half a decade, Richard Pigg abused his position of trust to defraud his bank, take advantage of his customers and skim money off of inflated loans,� said U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe. “When his financial schemes unraveled, he burned the houses to use insurance money in an attempt to cover the loans. For this pattern of fraud and fire that financially ruined his victims, put innocent lives at risk and injured a first responder, Richard Pigg is fully deserving of 12 years in federal prison."
According to an earlier document from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Illinois, Pigg had used his status as the vice president and loan officer to defraud more than $600,000 from the bank and use the stolen finances to pay for personal expenses and purchase investment properties.
Pigg's scheme included convincing customers of the bank to accept loans to buy rental properties in Centralia, Mt. Vernon, Murphysboro, and West Frankfort, the statement earlier said. Pigg did not reveal his intent to keep the interest off the loans for his own personal gain. Furthermore, Pigg would promise the customers that he would secure the tenants, collect rent, and maintain the properties.
“As the sentence imposed in this case clearly indicates, the investigation and prosecution of crimes of arson remains a priority for ATF and the United States Attorney. The criminal use of fire, whether to conceal crime, intimidate, or defraud others, places lives and property at great risk and endangers those who selflessly respond, day or night or extinguish the flames,� said Bernard Hansen, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Kansas City Field Division.
Pigg had also increased the amount financed in the loan by thousands of dollars and pocketed the extra money to pay for his own debts, the earlier statement said.
U.S. Attorney Tachelle Aud Crowe earlier spoke about Pigg's confession of committing bank fraud, stating:
“Richard Pigg not only used his professional position to deceive his victims and defraud the bank that employed him, he also risked the lives and safety of our heroic first responders when he chose to burn houses and apartment buildings to collect even more money he wasn’t entitled to... In this proven pattern of conniving and hazardous actions, I appreciate the work by our federal law enforcement partners to put an end to the defendant’s dangerous financial ploys.�
Pigg had committed two acts of arson in 2016 when he burned property in the Centralia area twice - once in January, where there was only partial damage, and again in February which resulted in a complete destruction of the property, the U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Illinois stated earlier. Pigg then used the insurance benefits from the infernos to pay off the loan on the destroyed properties.
The former vice president committed a third act of arson in 2016 in West Frankfort when he set ablaze a four-unit rental apartment complex.
Bernard Hansen, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Kansas City Field Division, shared his thoughts earlier in April on the crime of arson:
“Arson is never a victimless crime, nor should we ever allow ourselves to think of it as such. The criminal use of fire, whether to conceal crime, intimidate, or as in this case, defraud others erodes trust in our institutions and endangers the lives of those who selflessly respond, day or night or extinguish the flames."
Pigg must serve at least 85% of his sentence. Afterwards, he will serve three years of supervised release.
