San Francisco Bankers Thomas Wu, Ebrahim Shabudin & Thomas Yu First TARP Recipients to be Charged with Fraud

San Francisco bankers, United Commerical Bank CEO Thomas Wu & vice presidents Ebrahim Shabudin, Thomas Yu, first recipients of TARP funds to be charged with fraud.

Three San Francisco bank executives are facing lengthy prison sentences if found guilty for trying to defraud the government over its TARP funds. United Commercial Bank CEO Thomas Wu and vice presidents Ebrahim Shabudin and Thomas Yu are being charged with cooking their books and lying to auditors before accepting $298 million in taxpayer bailout funds, according to the San Francisco Examiner.

"Shabudin and Yu are the first senior executives of a TARP bank charged in connection with a scheme to defraud investors, which included the Treasury, and by extension the American taxpayer," acting TARP Special Inspector General Christy Romero said in a statement. In 2008 the bank received $298 million from then President George W. Bush's Troubled Asset Relief Program. A year later, the bank filed for bankruptcy and now the government is alleging its executives hid the true state of United Commercial Bank from the government in the lead up to receiving a bailout. An attorney for the executives said his clients are innocent and they are simply being used as scapegoats. Source

So, I guess the Occupy Wall Street movement just got their poster children. Since the actions of these three point to a bigger issue of greed on Wall Street and in the financial arena.