WILLIAMSPORT – The former chief lending officer of a Columbia County bank who ran a straw loan scheme over a nearly 10-year-period to satisfy his personal needs has been sentenced to a year and a day in jail.
He criticized Mensinger for trying to place the blame on his wife and family by telling him he had difficulty saying no.He admitted in his role as chief lending officer for 1st Keystone Community Bank in Berwick he used friends and family members to apply for eight loans totaling $690,000 between November 2011 and June 2020.
A growing personal debt and the inability to say no led to the straw borrowing, assistant public defender Brandon R. Reish said.He wanted to provide his wife and children with everything, he said, citing trips to Florida resorts as examples.