Ex Water Valley Banker Prison Bound

GREENEVILLE (AP) A former vice president of Water Valley’s Mechanics Bank has been sentenced to two years in federal prison and ordered to repay $3.35 million.

PULLEN

William J. Pullen will report to prison Sept. 19 after he was sentenced earlier this month by U.S. District Judge Debra Brown. He pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud in February.

Pullen faced up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Prosecutors dismissed a theft and embezzlement count as part of the plea agreement.

Court papers show Pullen, acting as a loan officer, borrowed money in the names of unsuspecting bank customers between 2009 and 2014. Pullen would take some of the money for himself and use some of it to make payments on the loans he had improperly made.