United States v. James A. Laphen

According to court documents, James Laphen and others concealed the true value of TierOne’s loan and real estate portfolio and provided falsely inflated figures in its required reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS).  Specifically, Laphen admitted that he used outdated property appraisals and rejected new appraisals that would have required TierOne to mark down the value of its real estate holdings. In addition, Laphen admitted that he and others delayed seeking new appraisals to conceal the depreciating value of its loan collateral, and restructured loan terms to disguise the borrowers’ inability to make timely interest and principal payments. As a result, Laphen admitted that he and others were able to hide millions of dollars in losses from regulators and investors.