The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is taking action against a former bank employee who allegedly sold check images that resulted in a six-figure loss for the lender.

The OCC says it’s issuing an order of prohibition against Cricel Santamaria, a former client service representative at Webster Bank in Stamford, Connecticut.

Says the OCC,

“From approximately April 2019 until May 23, 2022, the respondent was employed at the bank. Between approximately October 2021 and April 2022, the respondent obtained approximately 62 check images from the bank’s internal systems and made them available for sale over the internet.

Thirteen bank customers reported fraud on their accounts shortly after their checks were made available for sale on the internet. The total fraud reported was $237,374 and the total Bank loss was approximately $108,000.”

According to the OCC, Santamaria “engaged in unsafe or unsound practices, caused more than a minimal loss to the bank, demonstrated personal dishonesty and willful or continuing disregard for the safety and soundness of the bank.”

The OCC order prohibits the ex-banker from working in the banking and financial services industry.

Santamaria consents to the OCC order without admitting or denying any wrongdoing. Under the order, the Department of Justice (DOJ) retains its right to “bring other actions deemed appropriate” against Santamaria.

The Webster Bank, a commercial bank based in Stamford, Connecticut, has more than $70 billion in assets under management.

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Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

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The court has dismissed the financial regulator ASIC’s suit to impose penalties on the digital asset platform.

Per a Tuesday judgment, the court found that the discontinued ‘Earner’ product was a loan, not a managed investment scheme.

The Earner product was offered from March to November 2022, allowing customers to ‘loan’ specified crypto in return for interest paid at a fixed rate.

ASIC Loses Block Earner Suit

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) initiated the case, alleging violations of corporation laws by both Block Earner’s ‘Access’ and ‘Earner’ products.

Per the announcement, the “ASIC is seeking declarations, injunctions, and pecuniary penalties from the Court.”

The Australian Federal Court issued a ruling in February 2024, imposing penalties over the ‘Earner’ product. According to Judge Ian Jackson’s order at the time, the products were deemed to require an AFSL license.

However, another ruling in June 2024 relieved Block Earner from paying a penalty in the local financial regulator’s legal action, as the crypto firm has “acted honestly and not carelessly when it offered the Earner product.”

The regulator believed that Block Earner should pay a penalty of as much as $350,000, the Tuesday judgement read.

Justices David O’Callaghan, Wendy Abraham and Catherine Button have dismissed the ASIC’s appeal made last year. Further, the trio had ordered ASIC to cover all legal costs from both the original trial and the appeal.

Per the regulator’s recent press release, ASIC noted that it is “considering this decision” of the Federal Court.

No Plans to Re-Introduce ‘Earner’ Products

Despite the legal victory, Block Earner noted that it has no plans to re-launch its ‘Earner’ products for Australian customers.

Speaking to local media, Block Earner co-founder James Coombes said the Earner product was voluntarily closed in November 2022. Further, he stressed that there is no intention to reintroduce it.

“This case highlights the importance of ensuring regulations evolve alongside technology,” he said. “Without modernised guidance, Australia risks losing fintech innovation to offshore markets more supportive of responsible crypto entrepreneurship.”

Additionally, Block Earner co-founder Charlie Karaboga said that the ruling “brings closure to a long and difficult process.”

The post Australian Federal Court Dismisses ASIC Appeal, Favoring Crypto Lender Block Earner appeared first on Cryptonews.

Wells Fargo is on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars after a jury in Florida found the bank charged unauthorized fees and mishandled a trust fund established for minors.

The law firm representing the Seminole Minors Per Capita Payment Trust, a trust fund set up by the Seminole Tribe of Florida to safeguard the financial futures of around 2,000 children, says Wells Fargo is set to pay $825 million in damages and over $7 million compensation for the unauthorized fees charged.

The lawsuit accused Wells Fargo and eight of its executives of breaching fiduciary duty to the tribe and its children. The eight Wells Fargo executives were ordered to individually pay token damages of between $50 to $500.

According to the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Wells Fargo relationship manager Kim Scott confessed to the bank’s wrongdoing during cross-examination

“…Scott admitted Wells Fargo knowingly mismanaged funds, maintained inadequate records, and collected millions in unauthorized fees. Scott also revealed he had never fully reviewed the Trust’s governing documents, despite managing one of the bank’s largest accounts.”

Wells Fargo was fired as the trust fund’s trustee in 2016 after officials of the Seminole Tribe conducted a review of the rate of returns. Wells Fargo’s investment strategy reportedly resulted in returns that barely kept pace with inflation. The leaders of the Seminole Tribe also questioned illegal fees amounting to $7.6 million that Wells Fargo had charged the trust.

Following the jury verdict, Wells Fargo says it will appeal. A spokesperson for Wells Fargo’s Wealth and Investment Management department, Meghan McDonald, says.

“We followed the [Seminole] Tribal Government’s clear and repeated instructions about the management of the trust, abided by our fiduciary duty, and delivered financial results consistent with the Trust’s mandate for the children of the Tribe during our time as Trustee. Our goal for the appeal is to address multiple courtroom rulings that we believe prevented us from sharing the full story with the jury.”

The Seminole Minors Per Capita Payment Trust was set up two decades ago with the sole trustee being Wachovia Bank, which Wells Fargo acquired in 2008. The trust derived its resources primarily from the Tribe’s gaming enterprises. Currently, estimates place the trust’s assets at nearly $3 billion.

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A billion-dollar bank is warning customers after a cybersecurity breach affecting thousands of customers.

In a filing with the Office of the Maine Attorney General, Western Alliance Bank says an unauthorized actor exploited a vulnerability in a third-party file transfer software system it uses.

The breach, which was discovered in late January and happened in October, impacts 21,899 customers, according to the filing.

“Western Alliance learned that an unauthorized actor had potentially accessed some of Western Alliance’s data on January 27, 2025. Our investigation determined that the unauthorized actor acquired certain files from the systems from October 12, 2024, to October 24, 2024…

On February 21, 2025, we determined that the files contained some of your personal information, including your name and Social Security number. The files may have also contained your date of birth, financial account number, driver’s license number, tax identification number, and/or passport, if you provided it to Western Alliance.”

The bank says it has informed law enforcement about the data breach and is offering customers a 12-month complimentary membership to an identity-theft protection service.

Western Alliance Bank currently has approximately $81 billion in total assets, according to the Federal Reserve.

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