BENTON — A Champaign man was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Benton Wednesday to 1 year and 1 day in federal prison on his federal bank fraud conviction.

According to U.S. Attorney Donald S. Boyce, 56-year-old Christopher E. Creek’s conviction resulted from his participation as a developer for the construction of an apartment complex in Carbondale known as the Pointe at SIU.

When he pled guilty on May 9, 2017, Creek admitted that he submitted fraudulent requests for draws of construction loan funds to the banks that financed the construction of the apartment complex. Specifically, Creek submitted documents to the banks that falsely stated that the framing for the project had been provided by a company called “Southern Framing,” and that the foundation work had been done by a company called “Solid as a Rock.” Both “Southern Framing” and “Solid as a Rock” were fictitious entities that Creek created.

Creek deposited the checks that were payable to the fictitious entities into bank accounts that he controlled. He then used those funds for his own purposes, including paying subcontractors and materials suppliers from prior jobs to whom he still owed money.

In addition to the prison sentence, Creek was also ordered to pay $376,890.84 in restitution to the victims of his crime and fined an additional $2,000. The judge also ordered Creek to serve three years of supervised release after he is released from prison.