Former bank president pleads guilty

LINCOLN, Neb. — Former Ericson State Bank President, Jack Poulsen, aged 71, pleaded guilty Thursday to bank fraud in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline M. DeLuca. Poulsen, from Ericson, Neb., admitted guilt to charges brought forth by the United States Attorney Susan Lehr. The plea was made in response to an Information alleging bank fraud.

Poulsen's sentencing hearing is scheduled for Aug. 1, 2024, before U.S. District Judge Susan M. Bazis. If convicted, Poulsen faces a maximum sentence of 30 years' imprisonment, a fine of up to $1 million, and a mandatory special assessment of $100.

Ericson State Bank, established in 1959 in Ericson, Nebraska, was an FDIC-insured institution until its closure in February 2020. Poulsen served as the bank's President from June 2010 to September 2019 and was also a member of the Board of Directors.

As President, Poulsen was tasked with overseeing the bank's operations and informing the Board of Directors about its financial status. While he had lending authority, loans exceeding $250,000 required approval from the loan committee. Poulsen was prohibited from handling loans where he had a personal conflict of interest.

Despite these regulations, Poulsen engaged in fraudulent activities starting around 2012. He manipulated insider-related loans and accounts to conceal their unsoundness from the Board of Directors. This included advancing funds on insider-related loans beyond approved amounts, altering data in the bank's computer system to hide overdue loans, and applying funds to hide overdrafts on insider-related accounts.

One notable instance involved Poulsen manipulating the maturity date of a loan in March 2019 without proper authorization, concealing its overdue status from the Board despite being past-due for 181 days and exceeding the approved loan amount by approximately $1.6 million.

The failure of Ericson State Bank resulted in losses of over $800,000 attributed to the insider-related loans involved in Poulsen's scheme. The case was investigated by multiple federal agencies, including the Federal Housing Finance Agency – Office of Inspector General, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – Office of Inspector General, Federal Reserve Board – Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.