Heartland could be the first bank in the U.S. to have suffered a failure caused by pig butchering, in which scammers spur victims into investing in supposedly legitimate cryptocurrency investment opportunities (see: 'Pig Butchering' Online Scam Sweeping English Speakers).

The FBI issued a warning in December about pig butchering and other cryptocurrency scams, and it details how scammers build trust and rapport with their victims before convincing them to make fake investments in high-yield crypto opportunities and eventually stealing their money.

After Hanes initially purchased cryptocurrency with his own money "and funds potentially belonging to other entities," the watchdog report said, he initiated 10 wire transfers - each for more money than the last one - and eventually caused the bank to fail. Hanes managed to allegedly steal $47.1 million, circumventing the bank's wire transfer limits. Prosecutors say the number of fraudulent wire transfers added up to "at least 11."