Former bank CEO pleads guilt to embezzlement

BY DAVID HOTLE

Golden Triangle News Service

The former director, president and CEO of Peoples Savings Bank in Crawfordsville pleaded guilty Monday in federal court to embezzlement of bank funds, the U.S. Attorney?s office, Southern District of Iowa reported today.

According to a press release from Rachel Scherle, assistant U.S. Attorney, Russell Edwin Wagler, 52, of Wayland, waived his right to be indicted by a federal grand jury and entered pleas of guilty to information charging him with one count of misapplication and embezzlement of bank funds by a bank officer, and one count of obstruction of a bank examination. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 19.

According to court documents, from about December 2002 until March 2013, Wagler originated numerous straw loans involving existing customers and the bank took the proceeds from those loans. As a result, Wagler misapplied bank funds and the bank suffered losses of about $425,977. In addition, from about January 2008 until October 2013, Wagler unlawfully obtained multiple unauthorized bonuses and unauthorized salary increases. As a result of these unauthorized disbursements, the bank suffered losses of $200,963, bringing the total loss to $626,941.

In October 2015, Heidi Wagler, 50, of Wayland ? Russell Wagler?s wife ? the former bank director, pleaded guilty in federal court to charges she embezzled over $800,000 from banks controlled by Country Bancorporation while she was working at Peoples Savings Bank in Crawfordsville.

According to the court documents, beginning about June 2004 and continuing through October 2013, Heidi Wagler, being an officer of Country Bancorporation, with intent to defraud, embezzled $864,835 in additional compensation when she knew she was not entitled to it. The records said Heidi Wagler was appointed vice president and secretary of Walker Bancshares Corp. and was elected to the board of directors of Peoples Savings Bank in Crawfordsville on Jan. 12, 2004.

The documents said during the time Heidi Wagler was an officer of Country, the institute controlled Peoples Savings Bank, Center Point Bank and Trust Company, Hiawatha Bank and Trust Company, White State Bank, the Exchange State Bank, and Walker State Bank. As part of her duties, Heidi Wagler was responsible for performing payroll at the banks. Heidi Wagler was entitled to receive compensation from Peoples State Bank for the duties, but not from the other banks. Beginning in at least June 2004 and continuing through October 2013, Heidi Wagler caused the banking institutions controlled by Country Bancorporation to issue additional compensation to which she was not entitled. The document says Heidi Wagler paid herself both salary and bonuses to which she was not entitled.

The document also says from January 2008 through November 2013, Heidi Wagler also caused her salary and bonus transactions to be paid to her husband, to which he was not entitled.

The case was investigated by the Office of the Inspector General for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.