Bank manager was fooled by fake investments

It is hard to say when and where fraudsters came up with the idea of ​​setting up fake investment platforms online, although it is widely accepted that this practice sprouted in China in 2016. Interestingly, according to analyses, in the initial phase, most victims were caught on homosexual dating apps, because many people were ashamed of using them, so they did not report the crime. However, it does not matter now, because anyone can get scammed anywhere. Without exception.

At the turn of May and June 2023, a certain Shan Hanes got carried away with fake investments – American media report. But what is special about it? In this case, we are talking about bank president. Specifically, Heartland Tri-State Bank, which incidentally led the institution it managed to manage to bankruptcy and has now been sentenced to 24 years in prison.

It is not known how Hanes was lured into the trap, but the prosecutor’s office proved that while committing numerous frauds, he made 11 transfers to the fraudsters’ accounts for a total amount of 47.1 million dollars (approx. 179.7 million PLN). For this purpose, he used not only the bank’s own funds, but also money belonging to a local church, an investment club and even from his own daughter’s savings account.

Prosecutor Kate E. Brubacher convinced the jury that the man was motivated solely by intense greed and therefore violated both professional duties and personal relationships. She emphasized the great harm of the act, because in her opinion Hanes did something worse than embezzlement. Namely, he undermined trust in American financial institutions.