A former bookkeeper who was found to have “misappropriated” bank funds for her benefit and that of her family members is permanently barred from future service in any federally insured financial institution under a July consent order with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC).
The FDIC said it found that Agnes Renee Gibbs, while working as a bookkeeper for Bank of Morton (Morton, Miss.) between January 2017 and April 2019, “misappropriated bank funds by manipulating various accounts to make unauthorized fund transfers to benefit Respondent and Respondent’s family members.” The FDIC cited her for engaging or participating in breaches of fiduciary duty and unsafe or unsound banking practices that caused a loss to the bank.
Also in July, the FDIC executed a consent order with Unity Bank (Clinton, N.J.) related to the bank’s alleged Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering (BSA/AML) compliance program deficiencies. The bank, also cited for unsound or unsafe practices, is required under the order to review and improve its written BSA/AML program, including risk assessment, internal controls (such as monitoring of suspicious activity and reporting), and customer due diligence; to obtain independent testing of compliance with its program; and, among other things, to review and ensure its compliance with Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) regulations.
The above are two of the nine orders and enforcement actions taken by the FDIC in July. The others included six Section 19 orders (restoring individuals’ ability to seek work in banking) and one voluntary termination of federal deposit insurance.