Four Indicted for Failed Wilmette Bank Fraud

Four people involved with the failed Premier Bank in Wilmette — including chairman Dr. Zulfikar Esmail, 70 of Evanston, his wife Shamim Esmail, 65, Robert McCarty, 51, of Evanston and William Brannin, 53, of Chicago — were indicted on Tues. in the Cook County Criminal Court on fraud charges, according to Crain's Chicago Business. The case was the first in the country in which former bank officers and directors were accused defrauding the federal bank bailout program. 

Zulfikar Esmail was charged with financial institution fraud adn being the organizer of the financial crimes enterprise, the article states. He's facing a mandatory jail time of six to 30 years if he's convicted. The other three are charged with two sets of charges, with a possible combined prison sentence of 45 years. 

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