Plea Deal For Executive In Colorado Bank Failure

DENVER (AP) - A plea deal has been reached for a former New Frontier Bank loan officer who is facing federal fraud charges.

The U.S. Attorney's Office Tuesday announced Gregory Bell and prosecutors have reached an agreement. A change of plea hearing is set for Feb. 5.

Details of the agreement were not released but prosecutors in a complaint say they want to seize property obtained by the alleged fraud.

Bell was the chief loan officer at New Frontier, which had $2 billion in assets before lending practices turned it into one of the nation's most expensive bank failures in 2009.

Among the accusations is that Bell made more than $20 million in loans to borrowers and then funneled some of that money into bank stock to shore up its financial standing.

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