A bank exec stole $47 million for a crypto scam, and now he’s going to jail

A Kansas man was sentenced to 24 years in prison after pouring $47.1 million into a pig butchering scam — using money from the bank he was in charge of. Shan Hanes, the former CEO of the small Heartland Tri-State Bank, pleaded guilty to embezzlement after routing the funds to scammers’ crypto accounts, causing the bank to collapse.

As reported by NBC News, Hanes fell for a pig butchering scam that had him purchasing crypto “to unlock the supposed returns on his investments,” which he never received.

In recent years, pig butchering scams have become increasingly common, with a recent study showing victims lost over $75 billion to the ruse globally. Google even sued two alleged scammers earlier this year over accusations they uploaded dozens of apps to the Play Store to carry out their schemes.

Pig butchering scams typically involve a scammer finding and contacting a victim through a messaging app, a dating service, or a social media platform. They’ll then try to form a relationship — often a romantic one — with their victim before eventually luring them into making a series of crypto investments.

From May to June 2023, Hanes set up 11 wire transfers using the bank’s stolen funds. He also embezzled money from a local church, an investment club, and his daughter’s college savings account. The Heartland Tri-State Bank, which was insured by the FDIC at the time, was one of the five banks to close in 2023.

“Hanes’ greed knew no bounds,” US Attorney Kate E. Brubacher says in a statement. “He trespassed his professional obligations, his personal relationships, and federal law. Not only did Shan Hanes betray Heartland Bank and its investors, but his illegal schemes also jeopardized confidence in financial institutions.”