Former bank officer gets 2 years for bank fraud

A former Wachovia Bank officer was sentenced on Friday to more than two years in federal prison for bank fraud, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Tampa said.

Andrew Vulpis, 30, of Gibsonton, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and ordered to repay $1.2 million. Vulpis forfeited a 2007 Volvo S40-5 sedan in partial satisfaction of the money judgment, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

In 2007, Vulpis, who was an officer with Wachovia Bank in Tampa, was involved in 12 fraudulent residential real estate transactions in Hillsborough and Pasco counties.

In 11 cases, Vulpis submitted false and fraudulent loan applications to Wachovia Bank. He knew that the income of the applicants was inflated and that the applicants failed to qualify for the specific Wachovia loan, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

In December 2007, Vulpis bought a $200,000 Tampa home owned by a co-conspirator. Vulpis applied for a $180,000 loan from Bank of America.

Posted in: Internal Fraud