St. Louis Rep. Indicted For Bank Fraud

A Missouri state legislator has been indicted for his role in a multi million-dollar bank and credit card fraud scheme operated by the vice president of a major national bank.

Democrat state Representative John Bowman submitted false applications for nonexistent small business credit cards and Bank of America vice president Robert Conner received hefty kickbacks in the $1.2 million scheme.

The federal indictment says that the lawmaker and bank vice president met in 2006 to submit a fraudulent credit application in the name of Bowman Consulting. Bowman took a $4,050 cash advance using the false credit line at a St. Louis bank branch and obtained more than $1,000 in merchandise over a year.

Other fraudulent borrowers applied for the credit lines using fake business names and made-up information such as the amount of time it was in operation and its gross annual revenue. Conner demanded a cash kick back payment of $2,500 to $5,000 for each applicant.

Each of the 16 defendants is charged with felony bank fraud and felony credit card fraud. Bowman, who was first elected to the state’s House in 2004, represents part of St. Louis County and loves to brag about his “excellence in community service awards,” which includes the Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian award and another for introducing legislation that ensures financial instruction for all Missouri students. Hopefully the bill didn’t include a section on how to defraud taxpayers.