Former banker Dennis Smiley sentencing set for Jan. 21 in Fort Smith

Former Arvest Bank President for Benton County H. Dennis Smiley Jr., will be sentenced Jan. 21 at the Judge Isaac Parker Federal Courthouse in Fort Smith. U.S. District Court Judge P.K. Holmes III signed the sentencing notice on Nov. 23.

Smiley’s sentence is anybody’s guess. Judge Holmes can defer from the sentencing guidelines. Federal sentencing guidelines indicate that Smiley could face a maximum sentence of 71-months, but it’s more likely the sentencing will be less. Smiley will be required by law to serve 80% of the sentence he receives. The judge will also require Smiley to pay restitution which is set by the court and paid to institutions experiencing losses resulting from Smiley’s crime. He may also serve a three year probation following release from jail. 

Insiders familiar with the situation have told Talk Business & Politics that Smiley and his attorney have secured some financial help from a family friend to settle as much of the debt as possible before sentencing. This could help lower the amount of restitution that Smiley is required to pay, but will not likely lessen the sentence.

Tim Tarvin, a law professor at the University of Arkansas, has said Smiley likely shaved some time from a possible sentence by fully cooperating with the investigation given the level of the complexity because there were so many banks involved.

Smiley plead guilty to one count of wire fraud on Aug. 23 after a lengthly investigation into his fraudulent bank loans totaling more than $6.3 million borrowed from 23 different Arkansas banks. The losses that resulted from the loans is expected to be $5.282 million, according to the plea agreement. Smiley admitted in the the plea that he devised a scheme to obtain multiple loans using the same collateral which was valued at roughly $553,000 in order to keep up a lifestyle beyond the means of his $400,000 annual salary.

The former banker leaned on friendships and family connections to obtain multiple loans with several extensions over nearly a decade before the house of cards collapsed in March 2014. Smiley also admitted to the court that he forged the name of his father, Henry Dennis Smiley Sr., the bank chairman at First State Bank of DeQueen, on several documents in order to secure loans at several banks. 

The criminal probe by the Federal Bureau of Investigation into Smiley’s loan fraud began in March 2014 about the time he was forced to resign his post as president of Arvest Benton County and the loan defaults began to domino. Over the next 18 months, the FBI obtained records from the various banks where Smiley had borrowed and still owed money. That investigation uncovered Smiley’s loan scheme had been in place for several years, each time when the bank required more collateral, Smiley would falsify records regarding his collateral. He also never disclosed the prior loans outstanding with other banks.

BANK LOANS (Amount loaned, with amount lost)
Bank of Arkansas: $150,000 loaned, $150,000 lost

Bank of Fayetteville: $639,847 loaned, $516,123 lost

Bank of Ozarks: $161,000, $149,438 lost 

Benefit Bank: $357,119, $322,524 lost

Chambers Bank: $175,000, $165,361 lost

Community First Bank: $572,113, lost $273,070

Delta Trust and Bank: $245,126, lost $245,126

First Bank: $180,000, $178,797 lost

First Federal Bank: $265,000, $250,599 lost

First National Bank Fort Smith: $194,258, $194,258 lost

First Security Bank: $300,000, $279,700 lost

First State Bank of DeQueen: $632,550, $630,770 lost

First State Bank of Lonoke: $366,000, $278,147

First State Bank of NWA: $363,313, $236,500 lost

First State Bank of Russellville: $150,000, $145,148 lost

First Western Bank: $210,986, $196,359 lost

Iberia Bank: $50,000: $33,057 lost

Integrity First Bank: $185,589, $159,781 lost

Legacy National Bank: $100,000, $100,000 lost

Liberty Bank: $173,298, $145,096 lost

Signature Bank: $528,500, $428,034 lost 

Simmons First: $115,075, $84,816 lost

Summit Bank: $185,000, $120,116 lost