Louisiana Businessman Pleads Guilty to Conspiring with Bank President to Defraud Bank

New Orleans, Louisiana – A Louisiana businessman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud First NBC Bank, which failed in April 2017. Adolph made numerous misrepresentations and major omissions in loan paperwork over several years. He is set to be sentenced on March 30, 2023.

On Thursday, December 22, 2022, United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that Frank J. Adolph (“Adolph”), age 63, a resident of Kenner, Louisiana, pleaded guilty on December 21, 2021, to conspiracy to defraud First NBC Bank, the New Orleans-based bank that failed in April 2017.

According to court filings, from August 2008 until April 2017, Adolph was a businessman and borrower at First NBC Bank, both individually and through affiliated organizations such as Metro Rediscount Company, Motorcycle Acquisition and Investment Company, and Frank Adolph, LLC. Adolph made many misrepresentations and major omissions in loan paperwork he submitted to First NBC Bank over the course of several years. Ryan) and William J. Burnell ("Burnell") were aware of these misrepresentations and material omissions. Ryan and Burnell accepted and facilitated Adolph's loans despite knowing that they contained misrepresentations and material omissions. Regarding Adolph's loans, they made misrepresentations and material omissions of their own.

Adolph pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, in violation of Title 18, Sections 1344 and 1349 of the United States Code. Maximum penalties upon conviction include thirty years in jail, a fine of up to $1,000,000 or the greater of twice Adolph's gain or twice any victim's loss, up to five years of supervised release, and a $100 obligatory special assessment fee.

Judge Eldon E. Fallon has scheduled Adolph's sentencing for 30 March 2023.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's Office of Inspector General, and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System's Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Office of Inspector General are conducting investigations into this case. The prosecution is led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew R. Payne, Nicholas D. Moses, J. Ryan McLaren, and Rachal Cassagne.