3 North Dakota bankers sentenced for financial crimes

BEULAH, N.D. — A former financial institution president was sentenced Wednesday, Feb. 15, to 2 years in federal jail for collaborating in fraudulent financial institution dealings.

Brady Torgerson, 31, pleaded responsible to 2 felony counts of fraud in opposition to two banks in Beulah — First Safety Financial institution-West and the Union Financial institution — from 2019 to 2021. He was president of First Safety Financial institution–West and a mortgage officer at The Union Financial institution.

Torgerson was accused of funding loans with out correct info and taking out fraudulent loans within the quantities of $225,487.44 and $225,487.45 in three different folks’s names with out these folks figuring out in regards to the loans or receiving any cash for them, in accordance with prosecutors.

Torgerson’s father, Brent Torgerson, 61, was additionally sentenced for his involvement. The elder Torgerson was a mortgage officer at The Union Financial institution and was accused of misapplying financial institution funds by issuing a $724,558.48 cashier’s verify to his son with out acquiring promissory notes and different wanted paperwork, prosecutors stated.

One other financial institution worker, Kelly Huffman, 34, was accused of misapplying financial institution funds by issuing a $125,648.64 verify advance at Brady Torgerson’s request, in accordance with prosecutors.

Torgerson and Huffman have been sentenced for his or her crimes of misapplication of financial institution funds. They are going to every serve one yr of supervised launch and pay a $5,000 high-quality.