Former Southern Pine Credit Union President Sentenced to Prison and Ordered to Pay Nearly $4.5 Million Restitution

VALDOSTA, Ga. – The former President of Southern Pine Credit Union in Valdosta was sentenced to serve four years in prison and pay back nearly $4.5 million in restitution after she admitted to a long-running multimillion-dollar bank loan and aggravated identity theft scheme.Leah Lehman, 63, of Valdosta, was sentenced to serve a total of 48 months in prison (24 months per count, to be served consecutively) to be followed by two years of supervised release on May 30. In addition, Lehman was ordered to pay $4,491,253.97 in restitution to Southern Pine Credit Union. Lehman pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft on Oct. 26, 2023.Co-defendant Teresa Paulo, of Valdosta, pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft on Nov. 2, 2023. Paulo faces a maximum of 30 years in prison for bank fraud, and a mandatory two years in prison in addition to any other prison term imposed for aggravated identity theft, to be fo...