Former bank CEO sentenced in loan scheme to land Trump administration position

Former bank CEO Stephen Calk was sentenced to one year and a day in prison this week after he was convicted for participating in a loan scheme with the goal to secure a role in the Trump administration.

Calk, who was formerly the head of the Chicago-based Federal Savings Bank, was sentenced on Monday over his dealings with Paul Manafort, the onetime chairman of former President Trump’s 2016 campaign.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said that Calk improperly used his position as CEO to secure high-risk loans for Manafort and leveraged that as a means to gain a senior position in the Trump administration, according to a press release.

“Stephen Calk abused his position as the CEO of a federally-insured bank to try to buy himself prestige and power by trading millions of dollars in high-risk loans for influence with a presidential campaign and consideration for positions at the highest levels of the Defense Department,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in the release.

“Today’s sentence sends the message that those who corrupt federally regulated financial institutions will be held to account.”

Last year, Calk was convicted of conspiracy to commit financial institution bribery and financial institution bribery.

During his trial, prosecutors presented evidence arguing that he was seeking a position as either the secretary of the Army or head of the Treasury, Commerce or Defense departments, though he was not chosen for those jobs.

Calk was also sentenced on Monday to two years of supervised release and 800 hours of community service. He will also have to pay fines totaling more than $1 million, according to the release.

“As you can imagine, my life is in shambles,” he said during the sentencing, according to The Washington Post. “I deeply, deeply regret that the bank’s reputation has been tarnished as a result of my indictment and my conviction.”