Bank CEO Charged With Approving Manafort Loans in Hopes of Army Job

Stephen Calk, the one-time CEO of the Federal Savings Bank of Chicago, has been charged by the Justice Department of approving risky loans in exchange for a position in the Trump administration.

Prosecutors on Thursday unsealed the indictment, saying Calk approved $16 million in high-risk loans, reportedly to former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, with the expectation of being named Secretary of the Army or another high ranking position.

He did not get the position, but was part of Trump’s economic advisory team.

“Calk went to great lengths to avoid banking violations in an attempt to secure a senior position in a presidential administration,” said FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. in a statement. “He curried favor with an influential borrower, exploited his position as CEO of the Bank and the Holding Company, and exercised control over the Bank and the Borrower’s loans, intentionally turning his back on the many red flags posted along the way. His attempt at petitioning for political favors was unsuccessful in more ways than one – he didn’t get the job he wanted, and he compromised the one he had.”

Calk is charged with one count of financial institution bribery, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.

Manafort, identified only as “the borrower” in the release announcing the indictment) stopped making loan payments to the bank after he was charged in October 2017. The bank foreclosed on what it could, but ended up writing off over $12 million as a loss.