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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowShelbyville resident John K. Branam was sentenced to 57 months in prison Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker after he plead guilty to bank fraud, money laundering and filing false tax returns.
Branam fraudulently obtained a total of $1.6 million from 2004 to 2007, an Internal Revenue Service investigation found. Branam repaid some of the funds he stole, but the unrecovered amount remains in excess of $1 million.
Barker also imposed three years supervised release following Branam’s release from prison. During the period of supervised release, Branam must pay restitution of more than $1.18 million, maintain employment with no fiduciary responsibilities and cooperate with the IRS in determining and paying any tax liability.
Branam, 57, was office manager of King’s Title & Abstract Co. in Shelbyville from 1996 until 2007, when he was terminated by the company.
According to the charges, Branam began embezzling money from King's Title in about 2004 by using several fictitious business entities, including Branam Properties, Rocksolid Investments and Kings.
The IRS investigation found that none of the entities were legitimate businesses, but instead were created by Branam solely to embezzle money from King's Title.
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