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December 3, 2009

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Missing banker seen playing poker, arrested

Wednesday, Dec. 15, 1999 | 10:41 a.m.

A banker suspected of stealing almost $1.3 million before disappearing earlier this year was arrested in Las Vegas after he was spotted by an IRS agent playing poker in a casino.

Jerry P. McWhorter, 56, was charged with bank fraud and embezzlement.

McWhorter, a former executive at West Coast Guaranty Bank & Trust, scammed the Florida bank over seven years through wire transfers with other banks and into bank accounts he set up in the names of his wife and a fictitious business, investigators said.

Investigators were trying to determine how much of the money was left.

McWhorter was arrested Sunday after he was spotted by IRS Special Agent Mike Hickey playing poker at the Mirage hotel-casino. The agent was off duty at the time but recognized McWhorter from photos he had received from the IRS office in Sarasota.

McWhorter was last seen in February by his wife as he left his Brandon home on his way to work.

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