This article has been updated to include comment from JPMorgan Chase.
Two former JPMorgan Chase personal bankers have been indicted for stealing almost half a million dollars from accounts held by elderly and deceased clients.
The bankers, Jonathan Francis and Dion Allison, were accused of searching for customer accounts with high, stagnant balances and Social Security deposits, then creating ATM cards for the accounts to dispense money. Over two years, the bankers withdrew around $400,000 from the dormant accounts, according to the New York Times.
The bankers’ indictment comes on the heels of a June warning by New York’s attorney general, Eric Schneiderman, who said that bank tellers have expansive access to client account information. He said that investigators had uncovered identity-theft schemes by bank tellers at some of the biggest banks, including at JPMorgan Chase (JPM). That cost customers millions of dollars in total, Bloomberg reported at the time.
Lauren Ryan, a spokeswoman for JP Morgan Chase, said in an email that the bank is “working closely with the authorities and the Social Security Administration since notifying them about this incident. We will continue to do so to ensure that the funds are reimbursed to our customers or their estates or returned to the government as appropriate.”
Another former JPMorgan employee, investment advisor Michael Oppenheim, admitted to stealing $22 million from wealthy client accounts last month.
Francis, Allison, and two friends who participated in the theft are being charged with grand larceny, conspiracy, and falsifying business records.