Developer, Former Bank VP Sentenced To Federal Prison Over Years-Long Fraud Scheme
Orlando real estate developer Jeffrey Cannon and former Panama City, Florida, bank executive Jennifer Woods have been sentenced to federal prison terms after pleading guilty to bank fraud conspiracy charges.
Cannon was sentenced to 41 months for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, while Woods was sentenced to 24 months for conspiracy to commit bank fraud, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Between 2006 and 2019, Woods was employed by Centennial Bank in Panama City. Her last position was vice president of commercial lending.
Woods met Cannon several years before she left Centennial Bank and put Cannon in contact with Centennial Bank customers to invest with him, against the bank's policies, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida.
In February 2018, Woods began embezzling funds from Centennial Bank customers and transferring them to Cannon. Sometimes the embezzled funds were used to replace previously stolen funds before the account holders realized any money was missing. Cannon fraudulently obtained over $3M in total from Woods.
Woods’ prison term will be followed by five years of supervised release, while Cannon’s will be followed by three years of supervised release, according to their sentencing. The court also ordered both defendants to pay over $3M in restitution to Centennial Bank and its customers.
The Bay County, Florida, Sheriff’s Office and the Secret Service jointly investigated the case, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin M. Keen prosecuting.
