U.S. v. T.P.

T. P. found by Court of Appeals to be not guilty as a matter of law.

The newspaper read: White collar criminal defense attorney David M. Garvin today announced the successful appeal of the bank fraud conviction of T. P. in a case involving the former Benton Bank in Polk County, Tenn. On Feb. 2, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals issued its unanimous decision in the case of United States v. T. P., Case No. 09-6525, reversing convictions of bank fraud on all counts and granting the defendant's motion for judgment of acquittal. The court held that the district court had incorrectly denied T. P.'s motion for acquittal following the jury trial. “After a long battle, we are pleased that T. P. is once again a free man, said Garvin. "The appeals process can be lengthy and arduous, but it proves that bad decisions can be reversed and defendants can get a second chance at justice."

T. P. and his partner Mark Mourier were each charged with 13 counts of bank fraud arising from loans that were made to more than 10 LLCs for millions of dollars by Benton Bank. The bank president was separately charged and pled guilty. Ultimately, the bank failed. Parkes was also charged with making a false statement to special agents during the investigation. The jury found Mourier not guilty on all counts. Parkes was found not guilty on three counts of bank fraud and one count of making a false statement. During the trial the court prohibited T. P. from presenting evidence to support the theory of his defense, i.e. that the bank president had acted alone. In addition, T. P.'s motion for mistrial was denied despite the fact the prosecutor improperly told the jury if they acquitted T. P., he would get to keep more than $4 million of the bank's money. T. P. timely moved for judgment of acquittal based upon insufficient evidence. The district court denied the motion. T. P. appealed. The Sixth Circuit Court of appeals found that the district court erred when it prevented T. P. from introducing evidence in support of his defense. The court also found that the district court erred when it denied T. P.'s motion for mistrial based upon the prosecutor's misconduct and most importantly when the district Court denied Parkes' Rule 29 motion for judgment of acquittal due to insufficient evidence.  The Court ordered the conviction vacated.

David Garvin stated: " T. P. always was, and always will be, innocent of these charges. Justice was served."