Former Va. bank exec gets 2½ years for $17M fraud

ALEXANDRIA, Va.

A former low-level executive at United Bank has been sentenced to 2½ years in prison for helping a Virginia restaurateur defraud the bank of more than $17 million.

Sissaye Gezachew, who was an assistant vice president at United, pleaded guilty in June in federal court in Alexandria to helping businessman Osama El-Atari fill out bogus loan applications. El-Atari defrauded multiple banks out of more than $53 million and got 12 years in prison.

Gezachew, a 32-year-old Springfield resident, was assigned to a routine audit of El-Atari's loans. When Gezachew discovered several red flags, he suggested ways for El-Atari to conceal his fraud in exchange for $10,000.

United Bank has headquarters in Washington and Charleston, W.V. Its $17.6 million loss from the fraud is roughly equivalent to its average quarterly earnings.