First Southern Bank of Batesville
Biggest Scoops (40 Years of Arkansas Business)
A scoop is a story so important that other news organizations are forced to follow. Here are some of our biggest. read more >
Creditors Force Sale of Walter Quinn’s Aspen Condo
A new spiral is taking shape in the Lex Golden-Allied Bank-Walter Quinn nexus. read more >
Blocking And Tackling (Gwen Moritz Editor’s Note)
It's easy in hindsight to spot errors. I don’t know enough about auditing to know whether BKD’s auditors were incompetent. I do know from hard experience that errors often seem obvious in hindsight, and while they may be the result of lazy technique, some errors are virtually unavoidable. read more >
by Gwen Moritz -
BKD Agrees to $4 Million Settlement with FDIC
Accounting firm BKD LLP agreed to pay the FDIC $4 million to settle a federal lawsuit tied to the 2010 failure of First Southern Bank of Batesville. read more >
BKD Settles With FDIC Over Kevin Lewis Fraud
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. last week settled its lawsuit against the accounting firm BKD LLP, just days before the trial was scheduled to begin in U.S. District Court in Little Rock. read more >
In Fraud By Kevin Lewis, Blame Is On Trial
In a civil trial scheduled to start next Monday, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will blame regional accounting firm BKD LLC for failing to uncover the massive fraud that led to the 2010 failure of First Southern Bank of Batesville. read more >
by Mark Friedman -
First Southern Bank Missed Red Flags With Kevin Lewis Fraud, BKD Says
The accounting firm BKD LLC is blaming the collapse of First Southern Bank in Batesville on the failure of bank officers and officials to detect former Little Rock attorney Kevin Lewis’ fraud. read more >
by Mark Friedman -
No Banking Future for Former First Southern CEO Woody Castleberry
Thanks to the fraud of convicted former Little Rock attorney Kevin Lewis, Woody Castleberry will never work in banking again. Castleberry told us last week that his settlement with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was finally approved. He won’t have to pay a penalty, but he agreed never to be involved in banking again. read more >
FDIC Still Mopping Up Kevin Lewis’ Fraud Mess
More than two-and-a-half years after former Little Rock attorney Kevin Lewis was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for bank fraud, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. continues to clean up his mess. read more >
by Mark Friedman -
Process Server Relates ‘Look of Terror’ on Face of Bond Scammer Kevin Lewis
Kevin Lewis wasn’t a high-profile guy until he started attracting lawsuits and the attention of federal investigators in connection with allegations of bank fraud involving multiple lenders. The day-to-day whereabouts of Lewis might be as enigmatic as the man, but Andy Myers can tell you where Lewis was on Feb. 3. That’s the day he caught up with Lewis at his parents’ home in Searcy. read more >
by George Waldon -
FDIC Points Finger at Accounting Firm for Missed Opportunities in Kevin Lewis Fraud
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is blaming BKD LLP, the Springfield, Mo., accounting firm with a large Little Rock office, for allowing Kevin Lewis’ fraud to go undetected long enough to destroy First Southern Bank of Batesville. read more >