Former CEO of the Bank of the Commonwealth Sentenced to 23 Years in Prison for Massive Fraud
Department of Justice
Acting United States Attorney Dana J. Boente
Eastern District of Virginia
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WWW.JUSTICE.GOV/USAO/VAE/
CONTACT: DEANNA WARREN
(757) 441-6331
[email protected]
FORMER CEO OF THE BANK OF THE COMMONWEALTH SENTENCED TO 23YEARS IN PRISON FOR MASSIVE FRAUD
NORFOLK, Va. - Edward J. Woodard, 70, of Norfolk, Virginia, was sentenced today to 23 years in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit bank fraud, false entry in a bank record, unlawful participation in loans, false statements to a financial institution, misapplication of bank funds, and bank fraud. The Court further ordered Woodard to pay $333,569,732.00 in restitution to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Dana J. Boente, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Royce E. Curtin, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Norfolk Field Office; Thomas J. Kelly, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigation Field Office in Washington, D.C. (IRS-CI); Christy L. Romero, Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP); Fred W. Gibson, Jr., Acting Inspector General of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC-OIG); and Mark Bialek, Inspector General of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (FRB-CFPB OIG), made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Raymond A. Jackson.
"Defendant Woodard's felonious conduct, motivated by his own greed, destroyed a financial institution, left former bank employees jobless, and defrauded a federal recovery program out of millions of dollars," stated Acting United States Attorney Dana J. Boente. "Through the diligence and determination of my office, along with our multiple law enforcement partners, Woodard now stands convicted, incarcerated, and publicly accountable for his unlawful deeds."
SAC Royce Curtin said, "This investigation involved several complex, fraudulent banking schemes resulting in significant losses to financial institutions and American taxpayers. Today's sentencing sends a clear message that the FBI and our partners will aggressively pursue and bring to justice those individuals involved in these types of dishonest and deceitful frauds to ensure they are punished to the fullest extent of the law."
