David Luke Lane, 78, pled guilty to bank fraud yesterday in federal court before United States District Judge Henry T. Wingate, according to the office of Acting U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca.
According to court documents, David Luke Lane used his position as a property manager to defraud several Homeowners Associations and Community Bank of Mississippi.
Lane entered into contracts with the various HOAs to manage their properties and money in return for a fee. Lane’s duties included keeping the funds of each HOA in designated bank accounts and using those funds for the exclusive and sole benefit of each HOA.
Instead, Lane defrauded numerous HOAs by making unauthorized withdrawals of funds from HOA bank accounts and by converting those funds to his own use instead of for the benefit of the HOAs. Lane falsely represented to the bank that he was authorized to make these withdrawals from the HOA accounts. The total of funds taken from the HOAs by Lane exceeded two million dollars.
Lane is scheduled to be sentenced on February 11, and faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Internal Revenue Service are investigating the case, with assistance from the District Attorney’s Office for Madison and Rankin Counties.
