Judge sentences ex-bank executive to 10 years

Thursday, May 12, 2011

GAINESVILLE, Ga. - A judge sentenced a former Georgia bank executive to 10 years in prison and nearly $6 million in restitution for using customers and family members in a fraud conspiracy that led to his bank's downfall.

U.S. District Judge William O'Kelley sentenced 50-year-old Randy Jones on Thursday after a two-day hearing, along with three others who pleaded guilty to conspiring with Jones.

Jones pleaded guilty in January to receiving kickbacks for loans while he was an executive vice president at Community Bank & Trust, the failed Cornelia-based bank where he worked for 30 years.

He apologized in a letter to the court that said "my actions are purely no one's fault but my own."

O'Kelley said the sentence, while below federal guidelines, is "more reasonable" considering the circumstances of the case.