IL Farmer Sentenced To Prison For Multimillion-Dollar Bank Fraud Scheme: Authorities

A downstate farmer has been sentenced to more than three years in prison for a multimillion-dollar bank fraud scheme, authorities said.

Travis L. Murphy, 55, of Chandlerville, was sentenced to 42 months in prison and three years of supervised release for bank fraud, and was also ordered to pay just under $5 million in restitution to UMB Bank, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Central District of Illinois.

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"Murphy worked to undermine both financial and legal processes through persistent deception," FBI Springfield Field Office Special Agent in Charge Ryan Presley said in a news release. "Even when his actions were challenged, he chose to continue misleading and shifting blame."

In 2016, Murphy contracted with the bank for a $1.76 million line of credit, providing false paperwork claiming a grain complex cost about $2.65 million to build when the price was actually around $986,000, authorities said.

"The misrepresentation caused UMB Bank to extend the initial loan and other loans based on that false information and false tax returns Murphy provided to UMB Bank," the attorney's office said in the news release. "The loans totaled approximately $8.4 million dollars before Murphy attempted to discharge them in bankruptcy."

The scheme was identified during civil litigation in U.S. Bankruptcy Court and Murphy's attempt to discharge his debts was denied in 2020, according to the attorney's office, which added that he was indicted in 2023 for bank fraud and pled guilty in 2025.

At sentencing, the judge found Murphy should face increased criminal punishment because of his omissions, misrepresentations and untruthful testimony under oath in the bankruptcy proceedings, authorities said.