Former Southwest Missouri pastor admits nearly $9.4 million fraud scheme tied to cattle deals, risky stocks
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A former El Dorado Springs pastor and southwest Missouri banker has pleaded guilty in a nearly $9.4 million fraud scheme.
Craig Johnson, 45, of Butler, pleaded guilty Wednesday to wire fraud, bank fraud, aggravated identity theft and making a false statement to a financial institution.
Johnson was hired by Community First Bank in 2022 as a vice president and loan officer. At the same time, he served as a pastor at a church in El Dorado Springs until he was removed from that position in 2025.
Federal prosecutors say Johnson used both his banking position and his standing in the community to convince people to give him money for what they believed were short-term cattle investments.
Instead, prosecutors say Johnson frequently put the money into his personal investment account and traded high-risk small-cap and micro-cap stocks, ultimately losing the funds.
Some investors were even helped by Johnson to obtain loans through the bank before turning the proceeds over to him. Prosecutors say the bank was not told Johnson would personally benefit from those loans.
Investigators say Johnson handled approximately 29 loans and lines of credit totaling nearly $4.5 million at Community First Bank.
Authorities say Johnson also used money from newer victims to repay earlier investors and, in February, created at least three loans in other people’s names without their knowledge or approval.
The case also included more than $3.6 million in loans Johnson claimed would be used to buy hundreds of cattle.
In one case, Johnson submitted paperwork claiming he purchased 850 cow-and-calf pairs for $2.8 million from a Utah livestock company. Investigators say that sale never happened and the company’s owner said the signature appearing on the bill of sale was not his.
Johnson had genuine ties to the cattle industry before the fraud. He raised registered Beefmaster cattle near El Dorado Springs and had previously been recognized for his involvement in an award-winning Missouri cattle export operation.
Federal prosecutors say Johnson defrauded individuals and a financial institution of at least $9.39 million between April 2024 and his firing from Community First Bank in February 2026.
Bank fraud and making a false statement to a financial institution each carry possible sentences of up to 30 years in federal prison.
