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A federal grand jury has indicted the CEO of a failed Oklahoma community bank on bank fraud charges.<\/p>\n
Danny Seibel, who led the $107.8 million-asset First National Bank of Lindsay from 2007 until September 2024, faces 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million if convicted. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. According to the 18-count indictment, which was filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, the 54-year-old Seibel made numerous loans to friends and neighbors, including three local small-business owners, that were never repaid. Seibel also leveraged his status as president and CEO to conceal the bank’s true financial condition from directors and colleagues.<\/p>\n Seibel faces charges of bank fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, obstructing the examination of a financial institution, making false bank entries and failure to maintain an anti-money-laundering program.\u00a0<\/p>\n Seibel, who prepared the information packets for First National’s board and its executive loan committee, is accused of falsifying documents and manipulating the bank’s reporting systems to conceal the condition of loans, as well as the status of the bank’s overdrafts. In May 2024, for example, he reported overdrafts of $170,000 when they actually totaled $1.36 million, according to the indictment.<\/p>\n The indictment states further that Seibel, who had served as First National’s Bank Secrecy Act officer, advised clients to make cash deposits in amounts below $10,000 to avoid reporting requirements. Seibel also executed or helped execute transactions that should have been reported as suspicious under First National’s own anti-fraud policies, according to the indictment.<\/p>\n Much of Seibel’s effort was devoted to assisting the three local business owners. The indictment identified them as the owner of a trucking company, an automotive dealer and the owner of a heating and air conditioning business. The indictment described the auto dealer as a “frequent gambler” and stated that the owner of the HVAC business “often serviced marijuana grow houses.”<\/p>\n Justin Hill, identified in court records as Seibel’s lawyer, did not respond to a request for comment at deadline.<\/p>\n In a Nov. 26, 2024, affidavit filed in Oklahoma state court as part of a civil lawsuit, Seibel denied diverting bank funds for personal use. Seibel stated he sought to help the Lindsay community, as well as “certain customers.”<\/p>\n “I truly believed I could eventually correct these actions with minimal loss to the bank,” Seibel stated in the affidavit.\u00a0<\/p>\n An audit report made public by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in March 2025 indicated that First National’s failure cost FDIC’s Deposit Insurance Fund $42.3 million. The report cited “a critical breakdown in the Bank’s internal controls” as a key reason for the bank’s collapse.\u00a0<\/p>\n The OCC is preparing a more in-depth review of First National’s failure that is expected to be completed this month.<\/p>\n The deposits of Lindsay, Oklahoma-based First National were assumed by the $956 million-asset First Bank & Trust Co. in Duncan, Oklahoma.\u00a0<\/p>\n First National was one of two bank failures in 2024. Its demise followed that of the $6 billion-asset Six months later, First National’s failure sparked concerns that a potential economic downturn could