A man who lied about being a Navy SEAL and put other false information on loan documents in an attempt to start a horse business in Lexington has been sentenced to prison time for fraud.
Christopher “Rusty” Custer was sentenced to three years and five months in prison and ordered to pay $578,014 in restitution for one charge of bank fraud, which he pleaded guilty to in October 2022 as part of a deal.
Custer originally faced four charges, including two counts of bank fraud and two counts of wire fraud. The indictment said Custer “falsely purported” to be a Navy SEAL in 2018 when he applied for a loan from Traditional Bank to buy a home and land in Lexington for an equine business.
According to court documents, Custer told banks and another victim in financial statements he had a net worth in excess of $6 million and $9 million.
Custer allegedly misrepresented his “finances, character and personal history” in documents he gave the bank in May 2018 and August 2019, the indictment said. He also was charged with sending false information about his financial status by email to an investor in November 2019 to get a loan for an oil and gas pipeline inspection business.
State records show a person with the same name set up a business called Moon Dance Farm in Lexington in February 2018. It was dissolved in October 2019 for not filing an annual report.
Custer set up another business called Wildcat…
