OCC enforcements cite 2 former bank employees for PPP-related fraud

Two enforcement actions citing fraudulent loan applications by institution-affiliated employees to the federal Paycheck Protection Program created amid the Covid 19 pandemic are among the six December enforcement actions announced Thursday by the national bank regulator.

The announcement by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) also pointed to two formal agreements with supervised banks, a cease-and-desist order against USAA Bank (announced, and reported on here, Wednesday), a bank employee’s false dispute with the bank over her personal debit card use, and termination of a cease-and-desist order.

The OCC issued two notices of charges for orders of prohibition and an order of prohibition that would bar the institution-affiliated persons from any future work in a federally insured financial institution:

  • A notice of charges for a prohibition order against Armando De Leon, former store manager at a Hialeah, Fla., branch of TD Bank, N.A., Wilmington, Del., states that De Leon, while a bank employee, submitted fraudulent Payment Protection Program loan applications that received over $80,000 in funding.
  • A notice of charges for a prohibition order against Emily M. Niedwiecky, former senior customer service representative at a Raleigh, N.C., auto operations center of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Sioux Falls, S.D., states that Niedwiecky falsely disputed with the bank approximately $22,000 in purchases she made with her personal debit cards.
  • An order of prohibition against Wendell Pialet, former business relationship manager at a San Diego, Calif., branch of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Columbus, Ohio, cites Pialet for accepting a bribe to open a bank account that was to be used to receive proceeds from fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loans.

OCC Announces Enforcement Actions for December 2024

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