Dacula Man Accused of Conspiracy to Commit Bank Bribery

A Dacula man was arrested Feb. 27 on a federal criminal complaint charging him with conspiracy to commit bank bribery.

Wilbur Tate III, 48, appeared in court today in Atlanta and was released on a $50,000 bond. Court documents indicate Tate, who served as an assistant vice president of U.S. Bank in Ohio from January 2004 to February 2011, was in charge of outsourcing collection accounts to collection agencies, including Oxford Collection Agency. The executives of Oxford Collection Agency are alleged to have engaged in a multi-year scheme to defraud its lender, investors and clients and are also accused of bribing bank officials.

According to a press release provided by the IRS Criminal Investigation Division, Oxford executives reportedly provided Tate with monthly cash payments between $2,500 and $5,000 which were concealed in cigar boxes and mailed to Tate's Ohio residence as part of an effort to obtain and retain the business of U.S. Bank.

U.S. Attorney David Fein stressed the complaint is only a charge and not evidence of guilt.

The investigation is ongoing and is being conducted by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), and the Connecticut Securities, Commodities, and Investor Fraud Task Force.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Liam Brennan, Special U.S. Attorney John McReynolds and Deputy U.S. Attorney Deirdre Daly, with the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia.