Three Years In Prison For De Pere Man Who Defrauded Horicon Bank

(Horicon) Federal prosecutors say a De Pere man gets three years in federal prison for bank fraud. Prosecutors say 62-year-old Ron Van Den Heuvel pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud Horicon Bank between 2008 and 2009. Investigators say in January 2008, Van Den Heuvel convinced loan officer Paul Piikkila to approve a 250-thousand-dollar loan to one of Van Den Heuvel’s companies. However, the bank deemed Van Den Heuvel a credit risk and ordered Piikkila not to loan money to Van Den Heuvel in the future. Federal prosecutors say Van Den Heuvel and Piikkila skirted the order by arranging a series of loans, worth one-million dollars, to straw borrowers. The straw borrowers believed Van Den Heuvel would pay back the money, but Van Den Heuvel failed to repay many of the loans. The judge also ordered Van Den Heuvel to serve three years of probation after his release from prison. He must also pay more than 316-thousand dollars in restitution to the bank.