Bank of America Customers’ Information Illegally Accessed and Sold As Renegade Staffer Sparks Fraudulent Withdrawals: US Regulator

A US banking regulator says a Bank of America employee has illegally accessed customer accounts, leading to tens of thousands of dollars in losses.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) alleges Manuel Alejandro Ramirez Perez engaged in unsafe or unsound practices and violated laws while working as a relationship banker and credit solutions advisor at BofA’s North Naples, Florida branch.

In a consent and prohibition order, the OCC says that between February 2020 and June 2021, Perez accessed customer accounts without proper authorization to steal and sell sensitive data to an unknown individual.

The regulator says Perez’s actions allowed the thief to drain customer accounts to the tune of $65,877.37.

Bank of America bore the losses as it had to step in and reimburse the customers involved. Meanwhile, Perez got paid about $6,900 for selling customer data.

Perez did not admit or deny the OCC’s findings.

For his actions, the regulator has ordered that Perez be banned from working or performing any role for a US bank. The OCC also says the incident will be on Perez’s record and may be used against him in future proceedings.

“However, the specific acts, omissions, or violations described in Article II may be used by the OCC in future enforcement actions to establish a pattern of misconduct or the continuation of a pattern of misconduct.” 

Generated Image: Midjourney