James Gomes, a former bank branch manager from New York, has been sentenced to 13 months in federal prison after being convicted of using his position to steal over $200,000 from a customer’s account, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
The DOJ stated that Gomes, 43, abused his authority as a branch manager of an international bank to improperly access a customer’s accounts. He allegedly linked his personal phone number to the customer’s accounts and enrolled them in the bank’s online services without permission. Over the course of March and April 2020, Gomes transferred approximately $208,938.68 from the customer’s accounts to his personal accounts across various institutions.
To further conceal his actions, Gomes reportedly created a fake email address using the customer’s name. This email was used to fabricate conversations with his official bank email to make it seem as though the customer was authorizing the transactions. Even after the customer’s passing on April 5, 2020, Gomes continued the scheme, officials said.
On Tuesday, Gomes was sentenced to 13 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay restitution and forfeiture of the funds stolen. The case was prosecuted by trial attorneys from the DOJ’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS), assisted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark J. Pesce.
The DOJ’s Bank Integrity Unit, established to prosecute financial institution fraud, has imposed over $25 billion in penalties on banks and individuals since its creation in 2010. The unit investigates violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, money laundering, sanctions, and other financial laws.