Sterling Bank spared fine, to pay $27.2M in restitution under DOJ plea deal

Sterling Bancorp pleaded guilty to falsifying securities statements and will pay approximately $27.2 million in restitution, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced.

Sterling avoided a criminal penalty in the case, as the DOJ opted to focus the payment total on restitution without threatening the viability of the bank’s operations, the agency said in a press release Wednesday.

The bank falsified securities documents prior to and following a 2017 initial public offering (IPO) to make it appear it had strong revenue, according to the DOJ. At the time, the bank’s residential loan program, “Advantage Loan Program,” served as its primary loan product and was marred by fraudulent applications. The continuing deficiencies in the program, ALP, caused the bank to falsify filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) through 2019, the DOJ said.