Evansville, Indiana-based Old National Bank placed its CFO, Brendon Falconer, on administrative leave Monday, nearly a week after he was arrested on two charges of child molestation.
Old National appointed its chief strategy officer, John Moran, to serve as interim CFO, the bank said Monday in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
Falconer, 48, was charged March 26 with two felonies — child molesting and child molesting, fondling or touching a child under 14 — according to Warrick Circuit Court documents. Falconer’s initial hearing is set for April 29. He was released Thursday from Warrick County Jail on $4,000 bond, the Indianapolis Business Journal reported.
The child in the case told authorities she first remembered being abused around age 7, according to the Evansville Courier & Press. She said Falconer would put his hand down her pants and touch her privates while lying on the couch next to her. At the same time, he would put his hands down his own pants, she said.
Falconer would also repeatedly slap her on the butt, according to police. "I can't help it," he would reportedly say. [You're] just so damn cute."
The child realized around age 9 why she felt uncomfortable around Falconer and "disclosed that she was sexually abused" in 2021, according to a probable-cause affidavit.
The child's mother discovered the alleged abuse after reading a diary entry, the affidavit indicates.
But the child also recorded an exchange she allegedly had with Falconer in 2023.
"If you tell me I'm a pedophile, I did something sexual, I'm gonna tell you it's not true," Falconer said in the recording, according to the Courier & Press. "Because I know it's not. I know me.”
He admitted to the behavior later in the conversation, but continued to deny it was sexual, the publication reported.
"We have been made aware of these serious legal charges and are continuing to assess the situation as more information becomes available," Old National Bank said in a statement Thursday.
In Monday’s SEC filing, the bank characterized the matter as “a situation involving Mr. Falconer relating to a personal matter unrelated to the Company.”
Falconer joined Old National in 2009 and has served as CFO since 2019, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Moran, meanwhile, takes the interim CFO role during his second stint with Old National. He was director of corporate development and strategy for the bank from 2017 to 2019, then left to become CFO at Norwich, New York-based NBT Bank. Moran returned to Old National in 2021, according to his LinkedIn profile.
In addition to his interim CFO duties, Moran will continue to be responsible for Old National’s investor relations and corporate development functions, and will be compensated under his existing arrangement with the bank.
Falconer, though, may lose out on stock awards that haven’t fully vested if Old National fires him for "willful engagement in illegal conduct" or if he is convicted “for crimes involving acts of moral turpitude, fraud or dishonesty," American Banker reported, citing the bank’s proxy statement from last year.
Falconer received $2.7 million from Old National in 2022, according to last year’s proxy statement. That includes a base salary of $535,577, plus stock awards, cash incentives and other compensation.
Old National additionally announced Monday it has closed its acquisition of Nashville, Tennessee-based CapStar Financial Holdings.
“This partnership is an incredible cultural fit and a natural extension of our growth strategy that allows us to introduce our client- and community-centered approach to banking to several strong, vibrant Southeastern communities,” Old National CEO Jim Ryan said Monday in a statement. “We are excited to have reached this important milestone and to officially welcome CapStar clients and team members to the Old National family.”
Old National expects systems conversions to come in the third quarter, it said. The addition of CapStar gives Old National roughly $52 billion in assets and $29 billion in assets under management.
