Alabama man to serve 15 years for bank fraud that paid for private jet and luxury cars

A Vestavia Hills man is being ordered to pay $12 million dollars in restitution and serve fifteen years in prison for bank fraud. Prosecutors say Christopher Montalbano bankrolled an opulent lifestyle through his crimes, which included a private jet and luxury cars like Ferraris and Lamborghinis. Montalbano was accused of pulling off the scheme over a four-year period that ended in 2020. He pleaded guilty in November and was sentenced this week in Birmingham. Authorities say Montalbano used shell companies to take out more than one hundred and forty loans worth millions from at least twenty financial institutions. The suspect was accusing of creating internet websites for some of his shell companies including Land Work Tractor & Equipment in Florida and Alabama. The defendant’s father, Gus Montalbano, also pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Annemarie C. Axon to conspiring with his son to commit bank fraud.