Within the Wichita courtroom, Hanes supplied his solely public reflection on the financial institution collapse. Carrying a grey swimsuit, he walked as much as the lectern, glancing nervously at his former buddies within the gallery. “I’m sorry,” he informed the decide. Till the very finish, he defined, he thought he was concerned in a authentic enterprise deal. In January 2024, he informed the court docket, he made a futile try to recoup the misplaced cash, flying to Perth, Australia, the place a few of his nonexistent enterprise companions had supposedly been primarily based. He was in contact with them till the second he landed on the airport. However no bailout materialized. It was solely then, months after the financial institution shuttered, that he accepted he had been tricked. “I’ll endlessly battle understanding how I used to be duped,” Hanes stated. “I ought to have caught it, however I didn’t.”
After Hanes completed talking, Choose Broomes rocked backward in his chair and turned to face the shareholders. “The very best factor for you is to forgive this man,” he stated. “Depart issues of retribution to me. That’s my job, and I’ll see that it’s carried out.” He sentenced Hanes to 24 years and 5 months in jail, a punishment even larger than federal prosecutors had requested. A refrain of yeses echoed from the shareholders.
Hanes’s shoulders slumped. As two U.S. marshals approached him, he undid his tie, slipped off his swimsuit jacket and emptied his pockets. Behind him, the shareholders went quiet. Hanes’ sister and certainly one of his daughters clung to one another, their sobs breaking the silence. Hanes checked out them as soon as, rapidly, earlier than the marshals handcuffed him and led him out of the room.
Sooner or later final October, Tucker bought a name from an investigator on the F.B.I. It was excellent news: Federal officers had recovered $8 million of the stolen funds, which had been hidden in an account filled with Tether, a well-liked cryptocurrency. The stash was a small fraction of what Hanes stole, however it might be sufficient to reimburse the shareholders for practically all the cash that they had invested within the financial institution.
The jubilation Tucker might need anticipated to really feel was tempered by disappointment. His father had been out and in of the hospital, and a health care provider warned that he had solely days left to reside. That night time, Tucker went to his father’s hospital room and shared what he had heard. Invoice Tucker blinked just a few occasions after which stated, “Oh, my.” He died per week later.
