Bank Insider Pleads Guilty To Bribery
summary
Victor Phillips, an Atlanta banker, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank bribery for facilitating $2 million in fraud proceeds.
paragraph
Victor Phillips, a banker at an Atlanta-area branch of a national bank, opened bank accounts in the names of shell companies and fictitious persons in exchange for bribe payments. He helped launder approximately $2 million in fraud proceeds, taking a percentage of the illicit funds. Phillips pled guilty to one count of conspiracy against the United States, carrying a maximum five-year prison sentence.
narrative
Victor Phillips, a 39-year-old banker at an Atlanta-area branch of a national bank, conspired to facilitate money laundering by opening fraudulent bank accounts in the names of shell companies and fictitious persons between June 2019 and September 2019. In exchange for bribe payments, he helped launder approximately $2 million in fraud proceeds, taking a percentage of the illicit funds. Phillips pled guilty to one count of conspiracy against the United States before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger in Manhattan federal court. The scheme was uncovered by the FBI's New York Money Laundering Investigation Squad, leading to Phillips' arrest. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, with sentencing scheduled for June 4, 2020, before U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III. The case was handled by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York's Money Laundering and Transnational Criminal Enterprises Unit.
Classified public-corruption(confidence 85%). No EDGAR filing fingerprint (criminal/DOJ-side scheme). detection rule →
Statutes
Parties
Federal Bureau of InvestigationGeoffrey S. Bermanvictor phillipsWilliam H. Pauley III
Keywords
phillipsmoney launderingbanklinklaunderingbank insiderinsider pleadspleads briberygovernment non-governmentnon-government sitessites typicallytypically appearappear externalexternal linklink icon
Extracted insights
Dollar amounts 1
- $2.00M $2 million $1M–$10M
Entities 6
- agency Federal Bureau of Investigation
- scheme_term fraud and money laundering
- person Geoffrey S. Berman
- scheme_term money laundering investigation
- person victor phillips
- person William H. Pauley III
Triples 10
- Victor Phillips pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank bribery
- Victor Phillips was employed at Atlanta-area branch of Bank-1
- Victor Phillips opened bank accounts for shell companies and fictitious persons
- Victor Phillips accepted bribes to facilitate fraud and money laundering
- Victor Phillips conspired to launder approximately $2 million in fraud proceeds
- Victor Phillips faces maximum punishment of five years in prison
- Victor Phillips is scheduled for sentencing on June 4, 2020
- Geoffrey S. Berman is United States Attorney for Southern District of New York
- William H. Pauley III is assigned this case
- FBI oversaw money laundering investigation
Extracted body text (3,191c)
Press Release Bank Insider Pleads Guilty To Bribery Thursday, February 13, 2020 Share FacebookLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. XLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. LinkedInLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. Email For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York Corrupt Atlanta Banker Accepted Bribes to Facilitate Fraud and Money Laundering Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today the guilty plea of VICTOR PHILLIPS for conspiracy to commit bank bribery. PHILLIPS pled guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger in Manhattan federal court. U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “As he admitted in court today, banker Victor Phillips conspired to facilitate the laundering of what he believed were the proceeds of criminal activity. Thanks to the FBI, Phillips now awaits sentencing for his crime.” According to the allegations in the Indictment, court filings, and statements made during court proceedings: Between at least June 2019 and September 2019, PHILLIPS, who was employed at an Atlanta-area branch of a national bank (“Bank-1”), opened bank accounts in the names of shell companies and fictitious persons in exchange for a percentage of fraud proceeds that others laundered through those accounts. PHILLIPS, in exchange for bribe payments, opened one of these laundering accounts at the behest of a codefendant, who plotted to move approximately $2 million in fraud proceeds through PHILLIPS’s corruptly established account. PHILLIPS, along with his co-conspirators, were ultimately identified and arrested in the course of a money laundering investigation overseen by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (“FBI”) New York Money Laundering Investigation Squad. PHILLIPS, 39, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy against the United States, which carries a maximum punishment of five years in prison. The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge. Sentencing is scheduled for June 4, 2020, at 2:00 p.m., before U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III, to whom the case is assigned. Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI. This case is being handled by the Office’s Money Laundering and Transnational Criminal Enterprises Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Kiersten A. Fletcher, Jonathan E. Rebold, and Andrew A. Rohrbach are in charge of the prosecution. Contact Jim Margolin, Nicholas Biase (212) 637-2600 Updated February 13, 2020 Topic Financial Fraud Component USAO - New York, Southern Press Release Number: 20-060
OCR text (3,191c · plain-text · 99% conf)
Press Release Bank Insider Pleads Guilty To Bribery Thursday, February 13, 2020 Share FacebookLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. XLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. LinkedInLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. Email For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York Corrupt Atlanta Banker Accepted Bribes to Facilitate Fraud and Money Laundering Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today the guilty plea of VICTOR PHILLIPS for conspiracy to commit bank bribery. PHILLIPS pled guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger in Manhattan federal court. U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: “As he admitted in court today, banker Victor Phillips conspired to facilitate the laundering of what he believed were the proceeds of criminal activity. Thanks to the FBI, Phillips now awaits sentencing for his crime.” According to the allegations in the Indictment, court filings, and statements made during court proceedings: Between at least June 2019 and September 2019, PHILLIPS, who was employed at an Atlanta-area branch of a national bank (“Bank-1”), opened bank accounts in the names of shell companies and fictitious persons in exchange for a percentage of fraud proceeds that others laundered through those accounts. PHILLIPS, in exchange for bribe payments, opened one of these laundering accounts at the behest of a codefendant, who plotted to move approximately $2 million in fraud proceeds through PHILLIPS’s corruptly established account. PHILLIPS, along with his co-conspirators, were ultimately identified and arrested in the course of a money laundering investigation overseen by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (“FBI”) New York Money Laundering Investigation Squad. PHILLIPS, 39, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy against the United States, which carries a maximum punishment of five years in prison. The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge. Sentencing is scheduled for June 4, 2020, at 2:00 p.m., before U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III, to whom the case is assigned. Mr. Berman praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI. This case is being handled by the Office’s Money Laundering and Transnational Criminal Enterprises Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Kiersten A. Fletcher, Jonathan E. Rebold, and Andrew A. Rohrbach are in charge of the prosecution. Contact Jim Margolin, Nicholas Biase (212) 637-2600 Updated February 13, 2020 Topic Financial Fraud Component USAO - New York, Southern Press Release Number: 20-060