Former state bank officer accused of $200,000 fraud

A former vice president with Jennings State Bank of Spring Grove is accused of defrauding the bank of $200,000 through forged mortgage documents.

Anne E. Justesen, 44, of Stillwater, "fraudulently induced Jennings State Bank to extend a $200,000 line of credit to her by forging her husband's signature" to a mortgage document on a lake home the couple owned near Luck, Wis., according to charges filed Wednesday by the U.S. attorney's office in Minneapolis.

The forged mortgage documents provided Jennings State Bank, a tiny community bank with $50 million in assets, with inadequate collateral to secure repayment of the loan, according to the charges.

Paul Jennings, president of Jennings State Bank, said Justesen was terminated in 2006.

"This case involved self-dealing by Anne Justesen for her sole personal benefit and at the sole risk of the bank," he said. "It did not involve or impact any customers of the bank."

CHRIS SERRES