A 47-year old Tifton man has plead guilty to charges of Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud in connection with a 5-year stint as the president/CEO of the Tifton Banking Company.

Gary Hall, Jr. admitted this week that he conspired with others to obtain money, funds, credits, assets, and securities while carrying on a practice of replacing non-performing loans with new loans, including a Small Business Administration (SBA) guaranteed loan, to make the bank appear financially stronger than it was.  The actions caused monetary losses to the bank and SBA of approximately $2.8 million. Hall continued these illegal activities even during the time that the bank applied for and received assistance from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

Hall faces up to a $1M fine and 5 1/2 years in jail.

Read more from FOX 31 here.