Conspiracy or Coincidence? Have we got a deal for you Resource Bank tells the Agnews after they've stewed in prison for 2 yearsVIRGINIA BEACH (August 16, 2007) - - You know, you go to prison for 2 years for bank fraud. Then when you get out, your poor wife goes to prison for 2 years for bank fraud. And now the bank - troubled, if not corrupt Resource Bank - wants to settle everything you were just prosecuted and served time for, by wiping out everything they said you defrauded them out of? Whadda deal?If what the bank has offered were to happen and be approved by the federal judge, everything Agnew were convicted of would be wiped out. Wiped out after each spent 2 years in prison? Whadda deal? And if they will just sign the bank's release the bank will give them about $5 MILLION in illegally confiscated assets and debt relief.
That's what Mike and Barbara Agnew want to know. Here's the best explanation. The Agnews owned AGM a concrete contracting company. They owned equipment. They had financing and leased equipment from United Leasing out of Richmond. It was all worth a few million dollars. AGM encountered financial difficulties in 1999 and on Aug. 5, Resource Bank agreed to help resolve the problems. The bank immediately reneged on the deal as soon as the Agnews and their representatives left the room. Without prior warning, the next day, Aug. 6, 1999, Resource shut the doors of AGM for good. On Saturday, Aug. 7, 1999 , bank officials swarmed the AGM offices and confiscated everything down to the paper clips - including all records - without subpoena - and carted it all off to leave unsecured in the bank's halls and offices. (The FBI took custody of it 3 months later after documents had been added and documents had been stolen, and the files had been rifled by unknown number of people. It was this contaminated evidence that helped convict the Agnews). What the bank didn't do was secure and protect the millions of dollars in equipment from theft on the various job sites. What equipment the bank was able to find later, it confiscated and illegally gave it to a third party (United Leasing Corp. - ULC) to dispose of in order to settle a claim with that company. Based on what they say was ineffective counsel, contaminated, trumped up evidence, dubious relationships between FBI agents who made a criminal case out of what Resource was going to deal with civilly, a judge in conflict of interest because of a multimillion dollar business deal with individuals allegedly harmed by the Agnew's fraud, they were convicted after a 7-day trial without a jury and sentenced to go to prison.
Now ULC had a million dollar claim against Resource Bank for its lost property. Knowing the Agnews were going to prison, Resource chose to confiscate AGM's remaining property and equipment - $7.5 MILLION worth and give it - that's right - give it to ULC, a third party, for disposition through sales. Resource also illegally took 150,000 shares of Face International stock owned by Mike worth about $1 MILLION and sold it in a lump sum to itself. "This was a criminal act in itself by the bank," Agnew said. The bank figured, wrongly however, they wouldn't have to deal with the Agnews after they got out of prison, but they did have to settle the claim with United Leasing. "That was a criminal act," said Mike Agnew. "They took $7.5 MILLION of our assets and gave it to United Leasing to get United to give the bank a release from liability. That was $7.5 MILLION in collateral they gave it away to a third party for disposition. That was illegal." Of course, Mike and Barbara never give up. They feel they were wronged in this entire deal and they remain fighting and fighting mad. Resource is between a rock and a hard place: It wants peace and a settlement of all outstanding claims that resulted from the FBI 'voluntarily' involving itself in a now-botched bank issue. "What Resource has asked for," said Agnew, "is general mutual release. Resource will release me of any claims it has against me and $4.4 MILLION in debt they claim I owe (but they have never sued me for). I would release the bank of any claims I might have against it. "They have offered to return my 150,000 shares of Face International. They have offered to join the Assistant United State District Attorney (AUSA) Steve Haynie in asking the U.S. Atty. General to recommend that we be released from (court-ordered) restitution ($1.75 MILLION) and that my debt to it be marked 'Paid in Full.' "Then the AUSA and Resource will go to Judge Friedman for his approval of the deal, but they can't make me any promises that Friedman will cooperate," Agnew said. "Between the $4.4 MILLION in alleged debt and my $1 MILLION in stock," Agnew said, "the settlement deal would be worth about $5 MILLION." If Agnew sues Resource, say for $10 MILLION, for the criminal confiscation and illegal disposition of collateral and wins, the award would amount to $30 MILLION - or triple damages. What will they do? Mike hasn't given anyone an answer. Barbara? Sitting there in Camp Cupcake Federal Women's Prison in Alderson, WV? She's made a statement, but we can't print it. Barbara gets out of prison Dec. 31, unless she gets early release for Christmas or other reasons. In the meantime? The saga continues. Previous stories:
Next: The Habaes Corpus Proceeding: Judge Won't Consider Illegal Evidence in Agnews' Favor |