Cobos gets 18 months in prison for bank fraud scheme

Barbara Cobos of Mountain Home has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for her role in a bank fraud scheme at her place of employment, Zion Bank in Eagle.
The sentencing in U.S. District Court Tuesday came following a plea bargain agreement that had been reached in March 2006. Cobos had been a loan officer at the bank who had conspired with developer Chris Upchurch to issue 49 residential construction loans, for which Upchurch could not qualify.
Upchurch, described by Assistant U.S. Attorney George Breitsameter, who prosecuted the case, as "the real perpetrator of this scheme," had arranged for Cobos to approve the loans for "straw borrowers," and to accept false financial information for the loans. In exchange, she received $125,000 in kickbacks from Upchurch, Breitsameter said.
Breitsameter noted that in 2005, when the incidents took place, the housing market was booming and legitimate buyers were usually found for the homes Upchurch built shortly after construction had ended. But when the scheme fell apart, the bank wound up losing about $1 million.
In addition to the 18 months in prison, Cobos was given five years of supervised probation, 80 hours of community service, and ordered to pay $125,000 in restitution to Zion Bank.
Breitsameter said the sentence was about half of what the judge could have ordered, but reflected Cobos' cooperation in the investigation of the case. "She had admitted her role right away, in March 2006 (when she was arrested)," he said, "and that doesn't happen very often.
Upchurch was expected to be sentenced for his role in the scheme Friday, March 13.
Breitsameter said the sentencing judge had noted the significant impact Cobos's actions had had on her family and friends. Breitsameter said there "was absolutely no indication that her husband (city police officer Jesse Cobos) or any other member of her family knew what was going on" at the time.
Cobos was ordered to surrender herself on May 6 to a facility to be determined by the Bureau of Prisons.