UPDATE, April 20, 2016:
= = =
A De Pere couple and Appleton loan officer were indicted Tuesday for a series of criminal charges based on a scheme to fraudulently obtain loans from Horicon Bank.
A grand jury indicted Ronald Van Den Heuvel, 62 of De Pere, his spouse Kelly Van Den Heuvel, 52 of De Pere, and Paul Piikkila, 53 of Appleton, for allegedly obtaining loans on the basis of false representations, according to U.S. Attorney Gregory J. Haanstad, of the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
In 2008 and 2009, Ronald Van Den Heuvel was a Green Bay businessman operating various business entities. Kelly, his wife, also had her own corporation. Piikkila was a loan officer at Horicon Bank.
The indictment alleges that Piikkila approved a series of loans totaling more than $1 million for the benefit of the Van Den Heuvels and their business entities. Horicon Bank had instructed Piikkila not to loan any money to Van Den Heuvel so none of the loans discussed in the indictment are to him by name. Many of the loans were made to straw borrowers who did not receive the money and were not expected to pay it back. The loans were not used for the business purposes represented on the loan applications and the collateral offered by Van Den Heuvel was inadequate to secure the loans.
Count One of the indictment charges all three defendants with conspiring to carry out this illegal scheme. The maximum penalty is imprisonment for up to five years, a fine of up to $250,000, or both, plus a mandatory $100 special assessment and a period of supervised release of up to three years.
Counts Two, Four, Six, Eight, 10, 12 and 13 each charge Ronald Van Den Heuvel with executions of a bank fraud scheme. Kelly Van Den Heuvel is charged in Count 10. On each of these counts, a convicted defendant would face imprisonment for up to 30 years, a fine of up to $1 million, or both, plus the mandatory $100 special assessment and a term of supervised release of up to five years.
Counts Three, Five, Seven, Nine, and 11 each charge Ronald Van Den Heuvel with making false statements to influence the action of a federal insured financial institution on a loan. Kelly Van Den Heuvel is charged in Count 11. Anyone convicted on any of these counts would face imprisonment for up to 30 years, a fine of up to $1 million, or both, plus a mandatory $100 special assessment and a term of supervised release of up to five years.
The case is being investigated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The case will be prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mel S. Johnson and Matthew D. Krueger.
