Roger B. Handberg, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida
U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday has sentenced Igor Shushpanov, a former banker from Tampa, to 15 months in federal prison for his involvement in a bank fraud scheme. The court has mandated that Shushpanov pay $407,398 in restitution, representing the loss amount, and forfeit $303,093.26 obtained through his criminal activities. Shushpanov entered a guilty plea on November 18, 2024.
Court documents reveal that from February 2017 until approximately July 30, 2022, Shushpanov engaged in fraudulent activities by opening checking accounts at various credit unions within the Federal Home Loan Bank system. He secured credit cards or personal lines of credit from these institutions and proceeded to make purchases or cash advances up to their limits. To settle these balances, he sent worthless checks from accounts under his control.
During the period when financial institutions credited his account balances before realizing the checks were insufficiently funded, Shushpanov would again max out his credit cards and lines of credit, leading to even greater negative balances. This cycle continued as he deposited more worthless checks and made additional purchases on credit. Eventually, he filed for bankruptcy to evade repaying the defrauded credit unions.
The investigation into this case was conducted by the Federal Housing Finance Agency – Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Significant investigative assistance was also provided by the Office of the United States Trustee for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division. Special Assistant United States Attorney Chris Poor prosecuted the case.
