The watchdog in charge of monitoring TARP recipients on Tuesday announced criminal charges against a former official of Anchor Bancorp Wisconsin Inc. for allegedly orchestrating a fraudulent real estate deal, the Wall Street Journal reported today. David Weimert was indicted in the U.S. District Court in Madison, Wis., on six counts of wire fraud relating to a real-estate development transaction he worked on as senior vice president of lending administration and as a president of an Anchor subsidiary that invested in real estate developments. The charges are the result of a probe conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP). Weimert faces a maximum penalty of 30 years’ imprisonment on each count of wire fraud. According to SIGTARP, Weimert used his position at Anchor to mislead his superiors into believing a sale of the Anchor subsidiary’s share of a Texas industrial park was contingent on him purchasing a minority interest in the park. The Anchor unit agreed to the deal, giving Weimert both a minority stake in the development as well as more than $300,000 in commission fees.
