MACON, GA. — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)), published as received.

MACON, Ga. – A Central Georgia resident guilty of a fraudulent loan scheme at a local bank branch was sentenced to serve seven years in prison for conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

Ronnie Atkinson, 57, of Macon, Georgia, was sentenced to serve a total of 84 months in prison to be followed by 5 years of supervised release on Feb. 5, after he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft on May 12, 2025.  Atkinson was also ordered to pay a total of $3,357,073.21 in restitution.

In a related case, Alan Childs, 60, of Gray, Georgia, was sentenced to serve twelve months and one day in prison on Sept. 17, 2025, and was ordered to pay $3,094,200.98 in restitution after he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud on April 12, 2025.

U.S. District Judge Marc T. Treadwell presided over the case. There is no parole in the federal system.

“The defendant conspired with others to defraud a Gray, Georgia, bank branch, costing a small business and causing harm to many,” said U.S. Attorney William R “Will” Keyes. “These types of financial schemes have a negative ripple effect in the community and will not be tolerated by our office. We will continue to work with law enforcement to hold fraudsters accountable.”

“This case shows how greed-driven fraud schemes can devastate small businesses and undermine trust in our financial system,” said Peter Ellis, Acting Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Mr. Atkinson exploited personal relationships and falsified records to secure millions in illegal loans, and today’s sentence holds him accountable for that harm."

According to court documents and statements referenced in court, Childs served as the Market President for the Gray, Georgia, branch of Morris Bank, from March 2018 to August 2022. He had lending authority up to $500,000.00 per customer relationship; to lend more required approval from the Senior Credit Officer.

Atkinson owned a timber-harvesting business. In March 2018, Atkinson obtained his first loan from Morris Bank to purchase equipment. This loan, and all subsequent loans, were handled by Childs. By June 2019, Atkinson reached the maximum $500,000 threshold, and Childs was not allowed to make additional loans without higher approval. Also, Atkinson’s loans were downgraded to substandard, indicating they displayed a well-defined weakness that could jeopardize collection.

Beginning in August 2019 and continuing through May 2022, Atkinson began having relatives and friends appear as borrowers for loans intended for his benefit, which Childs knew the loans were for Atkinson, exceeding his $500,000 limit without the proper approval.

In loans involving the purchase of goods, Atkinson included many bills of sale that were fraudulent. In addition, Atkinson instructed some of the so-called reported sellers of the goods to instead cash the loan checks and give the money to him or one of his relatives. Atkinson also brought several Morris Bank loan and cashier’s checks to a local check-cashing business, sometimes bringing the payee with him and then collecting the cash or even cashing out the checks without the payee present; these payees had not sold anything to Atkinson.

As a result of the conspiracy, Morris Bank issued 57 loans to and for the benefit of Atkinson, with a total loss of between $1.5 million and $3.5 million.

The case was investigated by the FBI.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Howard prosecuted the case for the Government.