ALEXANDRIA, Va. — An executive convicted of orchestrating a nearly $3 billion fraud as chairman of one of America’s largest private mortgage companies was sentenced by a federal judge Thursday to 30 years in prison.
Authorities described the case against Lee B. Farkas, the 58-year-old former chairman of Florida-based Taylor Bean & Whitaker, as one of the largest prosecutions arising from the nation’s financial crisis.
The fraud put thousands of employees out of work and contributed to the collapse of Colonial Bank, authorities said, calling Colonial’s demise the sixth-largest bank collapse in U.S. history.
Farkas, who denied any wrongdoing when he testified at his trial, was convicted in April of all 14 counts and did not directly apologize for any fraud.
“When faced with the prospect of Taylor Bean & Whitaker sinking, I had to take risks,” Farkas said.
