DOJ press released focused on the employee rather than the bank with more details regarding the employee's "punishment" and the somewhat ironic statement at the end:
As head teller at the bank, Fitts was familiar with the currency transaction reporting requirements, and in fact had attended anti-money laundering training annually since at least 2009.
As she was compensated for her illegal actions and they were not based on ignorance, I'm very surprised at the lack of meaningful punishment particularly when it was clear the money came from illegal activity. I would not relish the idea of a month in any jail I've ever seen and being a convicted felon will be a ball and chain this 29 year old woman will carry for the rest of her life. However, the bank is being held as the scapegoat for the employee's knowingly illegal actions. It's like fining M&T because one of its employees embezzled money... Yet, since the bank is already dealing with BSA/AML problems elsewhere, the government has no qualms about kicking them while they're in a prone position.
It's true that somewhere along the line the bank should have noticed that this particular teller was going to the vault for large bills more often than her peers..."most transactions involved $50,000 or more." Hmmm, maybe they did and they're the ones who reported it on a SAR then called the Feds. However, they can't defend themselves with that observation, can they?
Either way, readers should circulate both the article and the DOJ press release among their personnel.
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