Fed cracks down on theft at banks
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- Key insight: The Federal Reserve is cracking down on bank employees caught stealing funds from banks and their customers.
- Expert quote: “Older adults are targets for financial exploitation due to their income and accumulated life-long savings, in addition to the possibility that they may face declining cognitive or physical abilities, isolation from family and friends, lack of familiarity or comfort with technology, and reliance on others for their physical well-being, financial management, and social interaction.” — 2022 advisory from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
- Forward Look: Banks and regulators are keeping closer tabs on scams and other forms of elder financial abuse.
The Federal Reserve banned two former bankers from returning to the industry for pocketing funds from elderly customers.
The Fed announced enforcement actions Thursday against two former bankers for separate incidents involving misappropriation of funds.
Simon Alberto Gonzalez, a former relationship banker at an Orlando branch of Regions Bank, was cited for stealing roughly $203,000 from an elderly customer of the bank between August 2023 and November 2024.
Gonzalez was fired from the bank in 2024. In its enforcement action, the Fed said his actions violated the law, safe and sound banking practices and his fiduciary duties.
The other banker banned was Ralph Mojica, a former teller for Billings, Montana-based First Interstate Bank. Mojica, who worked in the bank’s Nampa, Idaho branch, was cited for taking $33,300 from two elderly customers between July and September 2025, shortly after being hired by the bank.
Mojica also embezzled $8,000 from the bank before being caught and fired two weeks later.
Both Gonzalez and Mojica consented to the enforcement actions, which bar them from working for a bank without express approval from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.
The Fed’s orders do not specify how the two men gained access to the customer accounts, but their actions come at a time when the
“Older adults are targets for financial exploitation due to their income and accumulated life-long savings, in addition to the possibility that they may face declining cognitive or physical abilities, isolation from family and friends, lack of familiarity or comfort with technology, and reliance on others for their physical well-being, financial management, and social interaction,” an 2022 advisory from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network reads.
In 2024 alone, seniors lost
More broadly, regulators are keeping a close eye on internal bad actors at banks following the disastrous outcomes of some high profile embezzlement cases. In 2024,
In such schemes, fraudsters often form relationships with their targets — sometimes presenting themselves as friends or romantic interests — before gradually convincing them to send them money, sometimes under the guise of an investment opportunity or some type of ransom payment.
The number and variety of fraud in the financial system is ever-growing, as are the capabilities of artificial intelligence, developments that have some in and around the
Beyond theft and scams, misallocation of resources is a growing concern throughout the country, especially among small community banks. Since May, three banks — including the
Overall, bank examiners across the
