LANCASTER COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — A man of the Weems area of Lancaster County has pleaded guilty to defrauding his employer, Primis Bank, by issuing fraudulent loans, and then using the loan proceeds for his own purposes, according to the Department of Justice.
According to court documents, 46-year-old James Stevens worked at Primis Bank — formerly known as Sonabank, Eastern VA Bank, and Southside Bank — from 2000 to June 2023 as a commercial lender, branch manager and assistant branch manager.
As a commercial lender for Primis, the department said Stevens had the authority to issue loans to borrowers on behalf of the bank, and he also had the ability to access customer accounts, open customer accounts, and transfer funds in and out of bank customers’ accounts.
Beginning in 2008, and continuing through June 2023, Stevens allegedly issued numerous fraudulent loans on behalf of his unwitting bank employer in the names and identities of numerous other individuals.
The department said Stevens would often create fraudulent documents to support these loan applications, using the personal identifying information of multiple Primis Bank customers in the process.
Stevens would then use proceeds of these fraudulently issued loans to make payments on other previously issued fraudulent loans, to pay himself, or to pay others he associated with. Through this loan scheme, Stevens caused a loss to Primis Bank of more than $2.3 million, according to the Department of Justice.
Stevens also allegedly exploited his personal relationship with one Primis Bank customer to access the customer’s personal savings and checking accounts, and to withdraw funds from the accounts.
Stevens allegedly used his access to the customer’s accounts to change the mailing address on the accounts so that the bank customer remained unaware of the thefts, which eventually totaled more than $97,000.
Altogether, the department said Stevens’ frauds and thefts resulted in a total loss to Primis Bank of $2,477,643.
Stevens is scheduled to be sentenced on May 30, 2024. He faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, according to the Department of Justice.