A Springfield restaurateur - whose 2012 bankruptcy set off a chain of closures - and his son last week separately were sentenced for their roles in a more than $5.5 million bank fraud scheme.
Bruce Swisshelm, 69, of Battlefield, was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison and ordered to pay $5.5 million in restitution. His son, Bruce Swisshelm II, 44, of Springfield, was sentenced to four weeks in custody, five weeks of probation and a $100,000 restitution order, according to a news release from the office of Tammy Dickinson, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri.
Last July, the elder Swisshelm pleaded guilty to bank fraud and money laundering and his son admitted to concealment of a felony.
Through Swisshelm Properties Inc. and Horned Frog Deli Inc., Swisshelm owned and operated restaurant brands Burger King, Macaroni Grill, San Francisco Oven, McAlister’s Deli, Ebbetts Field and Fog City Coffee. Swisshelm II served as president of Swisshelm Properties.
In his guilty plea, Swisshelm said that from February 2011 to June 25, 2011, he submitted false financial documents to Great Southern Bank for the purpose of receiving $5.6 million via four commercial loans. In approving the loans, Great Southern relied on the false information submitted by the business owner, according to the release.
The financial statements submitted to Great Southern claimed Swisshelm’s businesses earned 2010 net income of over $780,000. Tax documents later submitted to the IRS indicated the businesses actually had losses exceeding $1.8 million that year.
Swisshelm II admitted to furthering his father’s crime by delaying the report of fraud to authorities by Great Southern. The younger Swisshelm communicated with bank officials, attended meetings and signed bank documents related to the commercial loans. According to the release, Swisshelm II was made aware of his father’s fraud scheme after the loans were issued, but did not come forward with that information.
In his March 2012 Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing, the elder Swisshelm reported $7.7 million in assets against $17.6 million in liabilities. In the wake of the filing, San Francisco Oven was taken over by Springfield businessman Gordon Elliott; the south-side Ebbets closed and the center city location sold to a group of investors; and Macaroni Grill shuttered its doors.
