Criminal charges added in first bank bailout fraud case; Lawyer says guilty plea planned

Criminal charges added in bank bailout fraud case

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A defense lawyer says a former financial adviser in Tennesee will plead guilty to criminal charges in the first fraud case related to the federal bank bailout program.

Gordon B. Grigg was charged on Wednesday with four counts of mail fraud and four counts of wire fraud. Grigg’s lawyer Mark Pickrell says his client will plead guilty to all eight charges. No date for the plea has been set.

Grigg had already been charged in January with securities fraud after federal regulators said he used the government’s $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program as a front to lure investments.

Prosecutors say Grigg embezzled nearly $11 million from clients since 1996 and began falsely claiming last year that his firm could invest their money in government-guaranteed debt as part of the program.