A Buford woman has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of scheming to defraud the First Coweta Bank. Her alleged actions led to the bank’s failure.

United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said the July 18 indictment and other information presented in court revealed that Amy B. Williams, 48, was the sole owner of United International Mortgage (UIM) Corp. in Buford and was in the business of arranging construction loans for residential builders.

In April 2007, UIM closed three construction loans for one of its customers, Mainstreet Builders, Inc. The loans were intended to finance the cost of constructing three new houses in Suwanee. The loans, which totaled more than $1.7 million, were funded by First Coweta Bank, Yates said.

“Williams directed an unindicted coconspirator to forge signatures on loan documents and caused those documents to be faxed to First Coweta Bank,” said Yates. “The bank then wire transferred the loan proceeds to an account controlled by Williams. Williams was required to hold the money in trust for the builder and to disburse the money to the builder on a draw basis, as work on the three houses progressed. Instead, she used more than $1.1 million of this money to pay off her personal debt at another bank and wire transferred $60,000 into her personal checking account.” 

After converting First Coweta Bank’s money to her own use, Williams attempted to cover up her crime by emailing false documents and misleading photos to the bank, said Yates.

“The actions of Ms. Williams, as alleged in the indictment, directly led to the failure of the First Coweta Bank and, as such, clearly demonstrates the serious nature and impact of those actions,” said Federal Bureau of Investigation Atlanta Field Office Special Agent in Charge Mark F. Giuliano. “The FBI will continue to coordinate its bank fraud investigations with its various law enforcement partners in an effort to effectively identify, investigate and present for prosecution those individuals who do so much harm to the banking industry.”

Yates said bank fraud is a critical problem throughout the United States, but it has hit Georgia especially hard.

“Georgia leads the nation in bank failures since 2008, with 78 banks failing – including First Coweta Bank, the bank this defendant is charged with defrauding,” Yates said.