Former Greeley bank exec wanted in Larimer County

A Greeley bank is paying the price for a former vice president and loan officer whose own shaky financial picture is unraveling into at least eight civil cases and one criminal case in Larimer County.

New Frontier Bank in west Greeley has paid not quite $200,000 to avoid lawsuits by five bank customers who said Fred Allison, 41, stiffed them after borrowing money from them on a personal basis. Allison was a vice president in charge of commercial loans at the bank from 2000-03. At least one of those complaints involved Allison borrowing against a $70,000 certificate of deposit, unknown to the longtime family friend who opened the CD, according to court documents.

With the exception of the CD incident, which came to light after Allison was fired, there was no wrongdoing with customers' accounts, said Larry Seastrom, president of New Frontier.

"There was no misappropriation of customer deposits," Seastrom said. "These settlements arose out of activities (by Allison) outside the scope of his employment at the bank. Borrowing from customers wasn't illegal, but we felt it was unethical."

Seastrom said he fired Allison as soon as he learned of the personal loans on Feb. 27, 2003.

Allison's troubles, however, apparently were just beginning, and now he's a wanted man.

An arrest affidavit was filed in Larimer on March 24 for felony theft, forgery of a government-issued document and defrauding a secured creditor. If arrested, he'll be held on a $10,000 bond. He's being sought for pawning his car at a Loveland dealership with a duplicate title last June. According to the arrest affidavit, Allison received $8,200 for the car and signed over a duplicate title. Another person came in later to reclaim the car with a title that signed the car over to him as collateral for a $15,000 loan he gave Allison months earlier.

At least eight civil cases against Allison are on record in Larimer, most involving money or Allison's lack of it. The lawsuits range from writing bad checks at Fort Collins businesses to demands for $285,600 by the longtime friend whose CD Allison borrowed against. Allison tried to file his own legal response in one case, but bounced a $70 check to pay for the filing fee.

Seastrom said he thinks he could have fought and won four of the customer complaints, but decided against it.

"We looked at each one on a case-by-case basis and felt it was better to settle," Seastrom said, adding that litigation would have cost more than the settlements.

Though there are no current claims, Seastrom said he will not settle any further complaints with any other people Allison dealt with outside of his bank duties.

"It's been a wild ride," Seastrom said. "When you put in the effort many of us have, this bank is like a child, and it's like people are attacking your child. You do become defensive and heartbroken. While we're not trying to make light of any people's hardships, it truly has been insignificant."