Former Florida bank VP, real estate developer, sentenced to federal prison

FLORIDA – A former Panama City bank vice president and an Orlando real estate developer have been sentenced to federal prison for charges related to a bank fraud conspiracy, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Jennifer Woods, 46, of Panama City, Florida, and Jeffrey Cannon, 48, of Orlando, Florida, were sentenced on March 9, 2022, and yesterday, respectively, after previously pleading guilty to charges relating to a bank fraud conspiracy, according to an announcement by Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

Coody said Woods was sentenced to a total of 24 months in prison for Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud, Aggravated Identity Theft, and Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud.

Cannon was sentenced to a total of 41 months in prison for Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud and Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud.

“This investigation and the associated sentences should serve as a significant deterrent to those who would engage in fraudulent transactions, especially financial representatives who abuse their positions of trust,” said Coody.

“Our law enforcement partners are to be commended for their dedication, investigating and recovering the victim’s hard-earned funds.”

Court documents reflect that between October 2006 and August 2019, Woods was employed with Centennial Bank in Panama City, Florida, with her last position being the Vice President of Commercial Lending.

Court documents further reflect that Woods met Cannon, a real estate developer in Orlando, several years before Woods left Centennial Bank. Cannon was looking for private lenders to “invest” with him, and Woods connected Cannon with other Centennial Bank customers (against Centennial Bank’s policies and procedures).

Beginning in February 2018, Woods is alleged to have begun embezzling funds from Centennial Bank customers and transferring the stolen funds to Cannon. At times, some of the embezzled funds were used to repay money owed by Cannon or to replace previously embezzled funds before the accountholders became aware that their funds were missing, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

In total, Cannon is reported to have fraudulently obtained over $3 million from Woods as a result of their bank and wire fraud conspiracy.

“Fraud erodes the faith that citizens have in our financial institutions,” said Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford.

“We appreciate the teamwork with our partners at the United States Secret Service and the United States Attorney’s Office for helping to restore the public trust.”

Woods’ imprisonment will be followed by five years of supervised release, and Cannon’s imprisonment will be followed by three years of supervised release.

The court ordered both defendants to pay over $3 million in restitution to Centennial Bank and its customers and entered a $3,069,114.39 forfeiture money judgment against Cannon.

This case was jointly investigated by the Bay County Sheriff’s Office and the United States Secret Service. Assistant United States Attorney Justin M. Keen prosecuted the case.