NEWNAN - Pope Cleghorn, Jr., 39, Villa Rica, was sentenced Friday to serve six years in federal prison on charges of bank fraud. Russell T. Long, 53, of Destin, Fla., previously pleaded guilty to conspiring with Cleghorn to defraud the bank.
The bank was at one time an affiliate of GB&T Bancshares, the owner of Gainesville Bank & Trust, which was bought by SunTrust several years ago.
Cleghorn was sentenced to six years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution of $2.4 million to SunTrust Bank, which acquired Hometown Bank in 2008. He was also ordered to perform 80 hours of community service.
Cleghorn pleaded guilty to the charges earlier this year. So did Long, who cooperated with the investigation, and is scheduled to be sentenced on December 15.
Sunday
July 13th, 2025
5:12PM
