Former Virginia bank manager sentenced for 15-year, $2.4 million embezzlement scheme

LANCASTER COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — A Lancaster County man and former bank manager was sentenced to over four years in federal prison on Thursday for a $2.4 million embezzlement scheme, which he carried out over 15 years.

On Thursday, Aug. 1, 47-year-old James Stevens was sentenced to four years and three months in prison for spending 15 years designing and executing a scheme to defraud his employer, Primis Bank. According to the Eastern District of Virginia’s U.S. Attorney’s Office, he did this by issuing fraudulent loans and keeping the proceeds.

Stevens, of the Weems area of Lancaster County, worked at Primis Bank — formerly known as Sonabank, Eastern VA Bank and Southside Bank — from 2000 to June 2023, according to court documents. He served as a commercial lender, branch manager and assistant branch manager during that time.

Commercial lenders can issue loans on behalf of the bank, according to court documents. They can also open and access customer accounts, as well as transfer funds into and out of them. Stevens used these privileges to carry out his scheme, starting in 2008.

From 2008 until June 2023, Stevens issued numerous fraudulent loans under many different names and identities. According to court documents, he often filed fraudulent documentation supporting these loan applications — some of which included the personal information of Primis Bank customers.

Stevens would then use the loans’ process to make payments on other fraudulent loans, pay himself or pay others. The total amount Primis Bank lost through this loan scheme is reportedly over $2.3 million.

In addition to the fraudulent loans, Stevens also directly exploited a Primis Bank customer. According to court documents, he used his personal relationship with this customer to access and withdraw money from their personal accounts, ultimately stealing over $97,000 from them. Stevens further hid his actions by changing the customer’s mailing address on the accounts.

In total, Stevens cost Primis Bank $2,477,643.

For more information, read the full release on the Eastern District of Virginia’s U.S. Attorney’s Office’s website.

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