Financial advisor who conspired in multi-million dollar bank fraud sentenced to prison • Nebraska Examiner

LINCOLN – A key associate in the effort to defraud financial institutions out of $45 million is headed to prison, with a judge condemning his role as “deliberate and calculated.”

Jesse Hill, a financial advisor based out of Hickman, helped Lincoln businessman Aaron Marshbanks fool nearly 20 banks into loaning Marshbanks money, purportedly for real estate ventures. Hill, 35, was sentenced to five years in federal prison Thursday.

It was one of the largest bank frauds in state history and was first reported by the Examiner a month after Marshbanks was found dead in a downtown Lincoln parking garage of a drug overdose.

Supporters of Hill from his church, Country Bible, filled a courtroom to overflowing at the federal courthouse in a show of support for the married father of three young girls. He was a board member at the church and a Sunday School teacher.

But while U.S. District Judge Susan Bazis noted the throng in the courtroom, she said that Hill’s conduct was not “a one-time mistake,” but one that extended for several months and involved multiple requests for loans from banks, often totaling more than $2 million.

The banks, in the end, lost more than $30 million, the judge said, which wiped out any earnings some banks made and denied bank employees of bonuses and raises.

“You, Mr. Hill, were an integral part of that scheme,” Bazis said during a 20-minute lecture from the bench. “This particular offense would not have been possible without you.”

She added that his conduct was “the exact polar opposite” of the good husband, parent and church member described in 50 letters to the court seeking leniency.

There seems to be “two sides to you,” Bazis said, one in business and another with friends and family.

Assistant U.S. District Attorney Don Kleine had called for a sentence of at least 97 months in prison, calling it “just punishment” for seeking to defraud “not one, not two, not 10 but over 20 financial institutions.”

Hill’s lead attorney, Pat McInerny said that comparable sentences for comparable bank fraud cases nationwide would suggest a prison sentence of 36 to 48 months.

He said the outpouring of support of Hill was the “clearest indication of what’s waiting for Mr. Hill when he’s released,” which is a life without a repeat crime.

“That sort of network you don’t often see,” McInerny said.

Hill read a lengthy written statement apologizing for his conduct to his wife, his children and his church, as his wife sat behind him in court, fighting back tears.

“I’ll be working the rest of my life to repair my reputation and make restitution,” he said.

Marshbanks, he said, slowly deteriorated into a man who worked out instead of being at home, mixed pain relievers with protein shakes and sought more and more loans to cover his losses and expenses.

But, Hill said, “I didn’t have the courage to challenge him.”

“I was severely lacking in humility, in my own life and heart,” Hill said. “I owe so many apologies.”

Bazis told Hill that the death of Marshbanks “left you holding the bag” for restitution and prison. She said that the 60-month sentence was “a variance” but was an appropriate sentence for his actions, which were “deliberate and calculated.”

The bank loans were instead used to cover investment losses, made through Hill, that were described as catastrophic in 2022, as well as to cover payments on earlier loans, according to court records.

As part of Hill’s plea deal with federal prosecutors, a $900,000 villa in Puerto Rico purchased with the fraudulent loans was seized, as was interest the pair purchased in a multi-million turboprop Pilatus airplane and proceeds deposited in an investment account. It was unclear if Hill would have to sell his $1.2 million home and acreage near Hickman.

Part of the proceeds were used by Marshbanks to begin building a multi-million luxury home and barndominium complex on the eastern edge of Lincoln, a home since sold in an attempt to pay back a portion of a bank loan.

Marshbanks’ death, and the subsequent revelations about the dozens of fraudulent loans sent shockwaves through the state banking community, throughout Lincoln and among those who knew the devout Christian.

How, people wondered, could a 6-foot-6 former star basketball player at Lincoln Christian High School, who was active in charitable causes, have fooled so many financial institutions? And why did he need so much money?

The scheme was beginning to unravel when Marshbanks, a former member of the Lincoln Christian School Board and a former star athlete at that school, was found dead inside a downtown Lincoln parking garage in November of 2022 after overdosing on a trio of drugs.

Hill, whom authorities say provided dummy financial statements to banks as collateral, was later targeted by Nebraska regulators in a lawsuit to freeze assets obtained by the pair and to stop Hill from selling financial investments.

In June, Hill agreed to a plea deal in which he admitted to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud in exchange for other charges being dropped.

For the past three years, a court-appointed receiver has been looking to recover what assets might remain in the Marshbanks estate to pay back the debts to the banks, savings and loans and credit unions, which included ones in Wyoming and Louisiana.

The search has included seeking access to cryptocurrency investments made by Marshbanks. 2022 was a catastrophic year for crypto investors, with some losing almost all of their value.

The search to recover assets continues.