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	Parishioner Being Sued Has Twice Been Convicted on Felony Bank Fraud Charges By Doug Erickson Wisconsin State Journal October 13, 2009 http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/crime_and_courts/article_dcadc27a-b845-11de-9ba4-001cc4c002e0.html A rural Juneau man accused in a civil lawsuit of ensnaring his church and fellow parishioners in an investment scheme has twice been convicted on federal felony charges of bank fraud. Arthur Eith, 66, pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud in 2007 and was placed on probation for five years, according to federal court records. The 2007 case references a prior conviction in 1991 for federal bank fraud for which Eith spent two years in prison. Records from the 1991 case were not immediately available for review due to the age of the case. Eith is at the center of a lawsuit filed by St. Bernard's Catholic Church in Watertown. The congregation alleges that Eith convinced his parish priest, the Rev. Thomas Marr, that he needed a large sum of money up front in order to receive a paycheck he was due from the government of Nigeria. The lawsuit says Marr provided Eith with at least $55,000 from a church account and another $400,000 or so from parishioners, priests and others. Eith allegedly had promised to donate $1 million to the church once he secured the Nigerian money. Eith told the State Journal on Monday he did not pitch the idea as an investment opportunity but had simply turned to his parish priest for help. He maintained his innocence Tuesday and claimed again that he has been to Nigeria "many times over the years to do (consulting) business." He declined to provide proof to a reporter of his trips there. In the 2007 conviction, federal prosecutors said Eith's wife, Barbara Haase, obtained a $305,000 loan from M&I Bank in 1998 to purchase cows. As collateral, she pledged to maintain a herd of at least 100 cows. In March of 2002, Haase filed for bankruptcy and disclosed to the court that she possessed 77 cows. In June of 2002, M&I Bank seized 32 remaining cows. Haase, principal of Saint Katharine Drexel School in Beaver Dam, a Catholic grade school, was not charged. Although Eith was not a co-signer of the loan, federal prosecutors say he handled the loan negotiations and sought to deceive inspectors about the number of cows in the herd. In two instances, federal prosecutors say Eith approached other farmers about short-term loans, suggesting to them that if they bought cows from him, Eith would buy them back within a couple of weeks for a greater sum. Eith allegedly told the farmers he needed money fast to "participate in an overseas investment opportunity," according to court records. Tuesday, Eith called the case old news and not relevant. Contact: 608-252-6149 or derickson@madison.com
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