Executives of failed Bank targeted in federal lawsuit

ATLANTA — (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS) Eleven former executives of a failed bank in Carrollton are being sued by federal regulators who claim they were negligent in their oversight.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (http://bit.ly/14jBNWI ) reports the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation filed a civil complaint Friday against First National Bank of Georgia officials saying they showed unsound banking practices when they approved 14 risky real estate loans that resulted in severe losses. The bank was shut down in late January of 2010.

The FDIC is seeking more than $29.9 million in damages.

The defendants are: former CEO Howard B. Lipham III; former President Randall F. Eaves; former Executive Vice President Mary M. Covington; and directors Grady W. Cole, Richard A. Duncan, W. Thomas Green Jr., Lemuel G. Joyner, R. David Perry, Thomas T. Richards, J. Thomas Vance and Charles M. Willis Sr.

The defendants “faithfully fulfilled their responsibilities and at all times acted in the best interest of the bank,” their lawyer, Alston & Bird attorney Mary Gill, said in a statement.