The former CEO of a southwestern Kansas bank who embezzled $47 million in a cryptocurrency scheme has been sentenced to 24 years in prison.
Shan Hanes, 53, former CEO of Heartland Tri-State Bank in Elkhart, pleaded guilty in May to one count of embezzlement by a bank officer .
He was sentenced Monday to 293 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after a federal court hearing in Wichita attended by several dozen people, including victims of the scheme.
Hanes initiated at least 11 wire transfers between May 30, 2023 and July 7, 2023 from the bank into a cryptocurrency wallet with his name on it, according to a report from the U.S. Office of the Inspector General.
“These wire transfers significantly impaired Heartland’s capital and liquidity, causing the bank to become insolvent,” the report said.
Heartland Tri-State Bank was closed on July 28, 2023 by the Office of the State Bank Commissioner.
The bank failed because of the CEO’s fraudulent activities and a scheme called “pig butchering,” according to the report from t he Office of Inspector General.