Sikh man pleads guilty to offences of fraud in US

A BANK EMPLOYEE, HE CONVINCED A CUSTOMER TO PURCHASE A CERTIFICATE OF DEPOSIT THAT DIDN’T EXIST

NEWYORK:AN Indian-origin man has pleaded guilty to theft, embezzlement and misapplication of bank funds in connection with a fraud scheme to illegally make loans.

Raminder Singh Rekhi, 41, of San Francisco, was a long-time employee of an American bank. He admitted that in 2017, he used his position at the bank to convince its customer to purchase what he told her was a Certificate of Deposit (CD).

Rekhi acknowledged that there was no CD, and that instead, he diverted the customer’s money into other accounts under his control.

Once the money was under his control, Rekhi entered into a series of transactions in which he used the funds as capital to make loans to three separate individuals. By doing so, Rekhi misappropriated the deposits entrusted to the care of the bank.

In April this year, a federal grand jury indicted Rekhi, charging him with one count of theft, embezzlement or misapplication of bank funds.

The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Wells Fargo’s internal investigation team. The plea was accepted on November 13 by senior US district judge Charles R Breyer.

Judge Breyer ordered Rekhi released pending sentencing, which is scheduled for March next year. Rekhi faces a maximum statutory sentence of 30 years in prison, five years supervised release, and a fine of USD 1 million, plus restitution and special assessments.