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FDIC sues former execs of failed Merced bank
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MERCED (AP) — Federal regulators are accusing former executives of a Central Valley bank of causing its $42 million failure through gross mismanagement.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. filed a lawsuit in Fresno federal court Friday against five former managers of County Bank in Merced. It alleges that they ignored internal lending policies and obvious signs of an economic downturn when approving a series of risky real estate and construction loans between 2005 and 2008.

The FDIC took over the bank in 2009.

The five named in the lawsuit are: former chief executive officer Thomas Hawker; former vice presidents John Incandela, Dave Kraechan and Edwin Jay Lee; and former chief operating officer and bank president Edward Rocha.

Calls to Incandela, Lee and Rocha were not immediately returned Wednesday. Phone numbers for Hawker and Kraechan aren't listed.