Daily Reporter Staff

Sentencing will take place at 10:30 a.m. Monday, Dec. 8, for a rural Everly man suspected of mishandling transactions to deceive his bank employer.

A Clay County jury found 40-year-old Shane Habben guilty of one count of second-degree theft and two counts of forgery on Thursday. Jurors returned their verdict about four hours after receiving the case at 12:23 p.m. Thursday

Each of the three Class D felony counts carries a maximum 5-year penalty. The judge could also substitute a fine of up to $7,500 for prison time. The most Habben could get is 15 years of prison and he could theoretically stay out of prison altogether.

"He is eligible for probation," Clay County Attorney Michael Houchins said. "There is no mandatory prison time on any of these offenses."

The county attorney's office looked into charges of misconduct, which took place between July 13, 2004, and November 2006 at State Bank in Spencer.

The second-degree theft charge was filed after bank officials learned that Habben used another person's identity to successfully bid $2,500 for a repossessed Oldsmobile Bravada. He then sold the repossessed vehicle for $3,000 to Hurst Salvage and pocketed the $500 difference on Nov. 17, 2006.

One of the forgery counts involves a loan issued by Habben to Max Cory.

"Max Cory had a loan at the bank and, what the evidence showed, was that on two separate occasions there were loan extensions created and it was reported that Max Cory had signed those loan extensions," Houchins said.

"In our investigation, we determined that Max Cory did not sign those loan extension agreements."

Houchins thinks Habben didn't want to explain to his bank board why the loans were not being paid. In the process, he was preventing the bank from taking the steps it needed to take to collect on the loan.

The second forgery count involves the signature of Jamie Manwarren, who took out a loan at the State Bank in 2005, according to Houchins. His father, Kenneth "Doc" Manwarren signed his guarantee on the loan.

The elder Manwarren came into the bank in March of 2007 to pay off his son's original $3,500 loan. That's when Kenneth Manwarren learned about a second guaranteed loan -- with his apparent signature -- for $2,530 in the name of his son.

"He (Kenneth Manwarren) became very upset about that fact, so they showed him the guarantee and he said 'that's not my signature,'" Houchins said. "He signed an affidavit of forgery saying that was not his signature. Again, that was Shane Habben's loan file."

Habben eventually went to the family's furniture store warehouse and paid Kenneth Manwarren $2,530, according to Houchins. Manwarren withdrew his forgery complaint, but the activity was discovered by the county attorney's office as part of its investigation.

Habben was fired from State Bank, according to court records, and accepted the position as vice president of the commercial and agricultural lending group at U.S. Bank in March of 2007. He has been actively involved in the community and served leadership roles in various church, economic development and service organizations.

"This is a tough case because Shane Habben, for all practical purposes, is a good guy," Houchins said he told the jury. "I think he's a good family man. He's been involved in the community. I think, at the time he was banking, he was well- respected by a lot of people. But for whatever reason he did certain things that are criminal. With banking being a highly-regulated industry and business, you've got to cross your T's and dot your I's. There wasn't a lot of economic harm in what he did, but what he did was illegal and we felt he needed to be accountable."

Houchins dismissed a third forgery charge at the start of the proceedings and before a jury was seated on Sept. 24. Houchins rested his case on Tuesday. Habben's attorneys concluded its case on Wednesday. Judge Don Courtney presided over the jury trial.