A federal judge has ordered that millions of dollars seized by the government will be divided among investors who were affected by a cryptocurrency scheme that caused a southwest Kansas bank to fail.
In August, 53-year-old Shan Hanes of Elkhart was sentenced to over 24 years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of embezzlement by a bank officer. Hanes was the chief executive officer of Heartland Tri-State Bank, and prosecutors said he initiated outgoing wire transfers of bank funds to a cryptocurrency wallet belonging to third parties. That caused the bank to collapse and the bank investors lost about $9 million.
The FBI was able to recover $8 million in funds associated with the fraud. The U.S. Attorney for Kansas, Kate Brubacher, said this will provide some financial relief for the victims.
