Columbia developer Gregg Crawford will now have to wait until December to learn the consequences of his involvement in a bank fraud scheme.

Crawford pled guilty in federal court on June 23 to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, with sentencing initially set for Oct. 14 at U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois in East St. Louis.

An order signed Sept. 9 by Seventh Circuit Chief Judge Nancy J. Resenstengel pushed sentencing back to Dec. 4 “to allow additional time for the completion of the presentence investigation report.”

Court documents describe Crawford and his brother-in-law, Francis “Frank” Eversman, working together to establish at least 30 illegal “nominee loans” from 2011 to 2017.

Using Eversman’s position as senior loan officer at Tempo Bank in Trenton (which has since been acquired by Scott Credit Union), the loans submitted on behalf of Crawford were “steered” through the bank’s approval process.

As part of this fraudulent loan process, Crawford recruited “straw borrowers” by promising improved credit paying cash in exchange for having their names listed as the properties’ owners.  

A July 28 report by the Belleville News-Democrat claimed at least 15 homes in the Belleville-Swansea area were purchased by Crawford or Crawford’s companies to be sold shortly thereafter for up to 40 times the price paid by Crawford using the nominee loans.

In most cases, the straw borrowers then exercised a “quit claim deed,” reverting ownership of the properties back to Crawford and his companies.

Court documents further state the nominee loans were granted at amounts exceeding the appraised value of the properties with the understanding the properties would be improved.

In many cases, those properties were not improved, and the loans were used to finance Crawford’s business interests – although the exact details are not disclosed in court documents.

While Crawford made payments on the loans, and paid the insurance premiums and property taxes of the straw purchases, “it was a part of the scheme that Crawford used some of the loan proceeds for purposes other than the promised improvements,” court information states.

Crawford committed the conspiracy as an officer of Main Street Developers LLC and Mid America Contracting Inc., both of which are headquartered in Columbia.

The Main Street Abbey complex at the site of the former Immaculate Conception Church and School, now known as Franklin Yard, is one of Crawford’s Columbia developments. 

Eversman, who also pled guilty to federal bank fraud in June, will also be sentenced Dec. 4 in federal court.