Former bank president sent to jail for theft

By Staff
Jonathan Willis
A former Russellville bank president was sentenced to 10 months in prison Thursday after pleading guilty to stealing from the bank where he worked.
Bobby Sorrells, 72, who now lives in Hartford, pleaded guilty in June to stealing $171,913 from Valley State Bank from October 2001 through March 2005.
U.S. District Judge R. David Proctor sentenced Sorrells Thursday and ordered him to report to prison Jan. 6. Proctor also ordered Sorrells to serve three years supervised release after completing his prison sentence.
Sorrells, the former president and chief executive officer of Valley State Bank in Russellville, pleaded guilty to the bank theft in June.
According to court documents, from about October 2001 through March 2005, while Sorrells was president of Valley State Bank, he issued official checks from the bank to pay off personal debts and deposited checks in his personal account to later pay personal debts without any permission of the board of directors.
This case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Angela Redmond Debro.
"Bank employees who steal undermine public confidence in the banking system, a cornerstone of our economy," said FBI Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Maley.
"The public must have confidence in the safety of bank accounts and in the integrity of the banking process," Maley said.