A Wells Fargo branch manager has stolen over $1 million from customers via unauthorized cash withdrawals, money transfers and cashier’s checks, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Washington.
Prosecutors say Brian Davie targeted eight different victims, one of them being a woman who lost over $566,000 from her retirement accounts.
Between March 2014 and June 2019, Davie worked for Wells Fargo in Battle Ground Washington, and used his position as manager to access customer files with sensitive information about bank account balances.
The ex-manager targeted customers who were elderly, had dementia, or had limited English skills, according to the release, sending their money to a fraudulent business account in relatively small amounts that don’t need to be reported to the government.
In at least one instance, U.S. Attorneys say that Davie failed to file paperwork that would designate one of the victims’ relatives as a co-signer on the account, making it impossible for the relative to detect the fraudulent transactions.
According to prosecutors, Wells Fargo has partially reimbursed the victims for their losses, which amounts to a total of $1,279,840.
Davie has been sentenced to four years in prison.
Assistant United States Attorney Zachary Dillon said to the court,
“Bank fraud and aggravated identity theft cause devastating effects on their victims. It can often take years or even decades to undo the impact of identity theft and to untangle the impact it had on your finances and your credit score. Let alone the untold psychological damage it causes when you are unable to trust the government institutions that are designed to protect you. As a bank manager, Defendant knew better.”
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