Prosecutors charge Pawnee man with bank fraud

TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- Federal prosecutors have charged a Pawnee man with committing bank fraud by allegedly running a $435,000 check-kite scheme in early 1997.

David A. Waters, 52, is accused of artificially inflating the balance of an account belonging to his business, D.W. Cattle, at First National Bank of Pawnee by depositing a series of checks that had insufficient funds.

Prosecutors allege that this created what appeared to be a substantial balance in D.W. Cattle's account when, in fact, the balance was substantially less than it appeared.

According to the charge, Waters' alleged conduct caused a loss of $435,000 to the Pawnee bank before the plot collapsed in February 1997.

Waters made an initial appearance Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Sam Joyner in U.S. District Court in Tulsa.

He waived his right to have the case presented to a federal grand jury, and his attorney, Keith Ward, told the court that his client is expecting to plead guilty.

Waters will await further developments in the case while on a $2,500 unsecured bond.