SunFirst Bank reopens as Cache Valley Bank

SunFirst Bank, whose co-owner and vice chairman is under indictment for allegedly processing online poker player transactions, reopened Monday as Cache Valley Bank.

The demise of SunFirst comes almost seven months after John Campos, 57, was one of 11 men federal prosecutors charged on April 15 with participating in a money laundering scheme tied to PokerStars, Full Tilt and Absolute Poker.

Campos, vice chairman and co-owner of the bank in St. George, Utah, was named in six of the nine counts in the original indictment. He allegedly arranged for the bank to illegally process Internet poker transactions.

The indictment said another defendant in the case, Las Vegas businessman Chad Elie, induced him to participate.

The bank was seized Friday by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which reached a deal with Cache Valley Bank to take control of three branches and $177.3 million in assets. In a statement, the FDIC said it would "retain approximately $15 million in (assets) that may be subject to external litigation involving SunFirst Bank."

It did not specify the nature of that litigation.

As of Sept. 30, SunFirst had assets of $198.1 million and $169.1 million in deposits.

Contact reporter Chris Sieroty at csieroty@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893.