SAN JOSE – LAWFUEL – US Law, US Lawyer – A former senior vice president of a Redwood City bank was sentenced today to serve a term of 15 months in prison, and ordered to pay at total of $188,714 in restitution, following her conviction for bank fraud. Vivian Michelle Titus was sentenced by United States District Judge Ronald M. Whyte, who also ordered her to serve a three-year term of supervised release following her term of imprisonment. Ms. Titus was ordered to surrender on May 15, 2007, to begin serving her sentence.

Ms. Titus, 44, formerly of Woodside but now living in Redwood City, pleaded guilty on October 20, 2006, to a single count of bank fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1344. According to the plea agreement, Ms. Titus admitted that, while she was employed as a Senior Vice-President for Bay Area Bank (formerly Mid-Peninsula Bank) in Redwood City, she fraudulently opened a $250,000 line of credit in the name of a friend who was also a customer of the bank. Ms. Titus admitted to forging the customer’s name on loan documents and that she used the fraudulently-obtained funds as a down payment on a new house and for personal expenses.

A federal grand jury sitting in San Jose originally returned an indictment on June 15, 2006, charging Ms. Titus with six counts of bank fraud and six counts of embezzlement by a bank official. Titus was charged with embezzling, between August 2001 and January 2004, a total of $700,000 from her employers, Mid- Peninsula Bank and First Republic Bank in Palo Alto. In addition to the fraudulent $250,000 transaction to which she pleaded guilty, the indictment alleged that Ms. Titus also defrauded two other bank customers: one by fraudulently establishing another $250,000 line of credit in the name of a second Mid-Peninsula Bank customer, and the other by forging and cashing a $200,000 check drawn against the business account of a customer at First Republic Bank in Palo Alto. According to the indictment and sentencing documents submitted to the court, Ms. Titus used the proceeds from the third embezzlement to repay the second victim after her theft came to light.

AUSA David Callaway represented the United States at sentencing. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Further Information:

Case #: CR 06-00427 RMW

A copy of this press release may be found on the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s website at www.usdoj.gov/usao/can.

Electronic court filings and further procedural and docket information are available at https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

Judges’ calendars with schedules for upcoming court hearings can be viewed on the court’s website at www.cand.uscourts.gov.

All press inquiries to the U.S. Attorney’s Office should be directed to Luke Macaulay at (415) 436-6757 or by email at Luke.Macaulay@usdoj.gov.

LAWFUEL – Finance Law News – We are pleased to announce that Hannah Terhune will be moderating a conference at the Financial Due Diligence conference on April 24 and 25, 2007 at the Hotel InterContinental in Miami, Florida. Ms. Terhune will be moderating on the topic, “Hedge Fund Due Diligence: Onshore and Offshore.” Ms. Terhune is an expert on the topic of Hedge Fund Due Diligence and has written an educational article on the subject. Click here to read this informative article.

At this conference, you will have the opportunity to learn how to identify, manage and avoid unnecessary risk in banking, international finance, and general business from over 40 speakers, from the private and public sectors in both offshore and onshore domiciles.

Two days of no-nonsense information & practical due diligence tactics to limit your liability under banking and general legislation and to prevent your unwitting involvement in securities fraud, investment fraud and money laundering.

CONFERENCE TOPICS INCLUDE:

Financial Crime – The Last 12 Months
A review of recent developments in financial crime, investigations and compliance.

Liability & Jurisdiction: Who is Liable When Fraud is Committed & How do Courts Determine Jurisdiction?
A discussion of the legal standards that must be satisfied to hold banks, auditors, brokers, financial service providers, and professional advisors accountable for fraud that is committed by their clients.

Multi-Jurisdiction Investigations: How to Obtain Information Outside Your Territory
Regulators and investigators discuss the obstacles in civil and criminal cross-border investigations.

Hedge Fund Due Diligence: Onshore & Offshore
An Overview of the Hedge Fund industry – its significance and what you need to know about it; Onshore versus Offshore Considerations – what are the key differences between onshore and offshore domiciled funds; Hedge Fund Failure – reasons for hedge fund failure, including overview of recent high profile cases, and lessons learned; Researching management; and Verifying NAVs.

Understanding Offshore Insurance
Panel discusses the fascinating and complicated world of offshore insurance.

Russian Clients: How To Evaluate Them
This session will go into what steps you can take to help you determine whether a Russian client is worth the risk.

On Special in Aisle 4: Offshore Bank Licenses
A look at the investigation and criminal prosecution of Jerome Schneider, who used to make a living from forming offshore banks en masse in lightly-regulated jurisdictions and selling them to U. S. residents, several of whom then used them for illegal purposes.

International Pre-Employment & Vendor Screening
Panelists will show you how to conduct thorough background checks, using databases, sources, and other tools & techniques, to minimize your risks of making mistakes when hiring employees or entering into business relationships.

United States Senate vs. Offshore Financial Centers
Chief Investigator for the Senate Subcommittee joins regulators in offshore financial centers to discuss its findings from a report entitled ‘Tax Haven Abuses: The Enablers, The Tools & Secrecy’ that was released by the U. S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.

Register for the 5th OffshoreAlert Due Diligence Conference…With no risk to you! CLICK HERE to reserve your seat today!

We hope to see you there!

Capital Management Law Group, PLLC
1717 K Street NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: (202) 498-7533
Fax: (202) 536-4109