April 23: The FBI confirms it is investigating the Erpenbeck Co. for suspected bank fraud. Also, the First National Bank of Northern Kentucky names company owner William Erpenbeck in a foreclosure suit filed in Kenton County Circuit Court. The bank claims Erpenbeck defaulted on a $450,000 loan he took out for a home in Summit Estates. More details
April 24: Jeff Erpenbeck, who had replaced his brother, William Erpenbeck, as president of the company in March, says he was unaware of the builder's financial problems that had drawn the attention of FBI investigators. More details
April 29: Provident Bank files a $2.6 million lawsuit claiming that the Erpenbeck Co. failed to guarantee $4.5 million in loans on a 1998 residential construction project in Miami Heights. More details
April 30: John O. Finnan, president of the Peoples Bank of Northern Kentucky, and Marc Menne, the bank's executive vice president for commercial loans, both resign in the wake of revelations of Erpenbeck's financial troubles. Finnan and Menne ran a separate company that bought numerous properties, mostly model homes, from Erpenbeck. Although the venture doesn't appear to violate banking rules, members of Peoples board of directors have frowned on the practice. More details
May 1: Bank One joins five other lenders in filing foreclosure lawsuits against Erpenbeck-held properties in Mason, Union and Boone County. The biggest Bank One suit accuses Oakmont Village Builders-an Erpenbeck subsidiary-of defaulting on $6.9 million in loans over a four-year period beginning in 1997. More details
Merwin Grayson comes out of retirement to assume command of Peoples Bank and proclaims the lending institution-with $209 million in assets and six branches in Northern Kentucky-to be in "very strong" financial shape. More details
May 2: The Erpenbeck Co. terminates 40 employees, leaving it with a staff of 10. More details
May 3: People's Bank of Northern Kentucky reveals that the Erpenbeck Co. had redeemed more than $15 million in checks made out to other financial institutions for new home purchases. Four other area banks initiate foreclosure actions. More details
May 8: Peoples Bank sues the Erpenbeck Co., seeking to foreclose on an undetermined amount of Erpenbeck property to recoup money the bank says Erpenbeck owes. Well-known Cincinnati lawyer Stan Chesley joins the legal fray, saying he and Covington lawyer Brandon Voelker will file a class action suit against Peoples Bank, accusing the bank of "fraud, negligence and unlawful conversion." Though only one couple is listed as the plaintiff, Chesley says the suit is open and could eventually include as many as 200 plaintiffs whose funds were allegedly misapplied by the bank. More details
May 9: The Boone County Sheriff's Department opens a criminal investigation into the Erpenbeck Co. It alleges that the builder never paid the county payroll taxes it collected from employees. More details
May 10: William Erpenbeck turns himself in to the Boone County Sheriff's Department, which books him on felony charges of passing a bad check for $258,493.99 to a contractor. He is released after his family posts a $50,000 bond. More details
May 11: To escape the "growing pressure and news media coverage" affecting his family, William Erpenbeck, his wife and three children relocate to their condominium in Ft. Myers, Fla. Erpenbeck's lawyer, Glenn V. Whitaker, says his client will continue to meet with federal authorities "whenever they want to talk to him." More details
May 16: Peoples Bank confirms it will stay open and pledges to cover any and all financial obligations stemming from its association with the Erpenbeck Co. Grayson says the bank has the backing of its board to cover any potential losses. More details
May 17: Jeff Erpenbeck hires Cincinnati attorney Michael Barrett, a former assistant Hamilton County prosecutor, to help defend his company against the growing number of lawsuits filed by homeowners, banks and subcontractors as the FBI continues its investigation of the Erpenbeck Co. for alleged bank fraud. More details
· Also, State Rep. Michelle Schneider says she and two other area Republicans in the Ohio legislature will introduce a reform bill later this summer after discussions with industry officials. More details
· In response to the growing controversy, Peoples Bank says that for the first time in its 10-year history, it will install a chairman of the board to more closely monitor the bank's daily operations. More details
May 19: The Enquirer reports that Mick Kennedy, the former head of single-family home construction at the Erpenbeck Co., left the firm immediately when he learned that his daughter was among the nearly 200 Erpenbeck customers who don't have a clear title to their homes. More details
