New York bank manager sentenced to prison for stealing over $200K from dead customer: DOJ

A New York man was sentenced to 13 months behind bars after prosecutors say he stole more than $200,000 from a customer while working as a bank manager.

According to the Department of Justice, James Gomes, 43, used his job at the international bank to "improperly access a customer's accounts" between January and April 2020.

Officials accuse Gomes of linking his phone number to the customer's accounts and registering them in the bank's online services. The former banker transferred the funds to his personal bank and investment accounts in March and April of that year.

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Gomes continued the scheme after the customer died, prosecutors say

Prosecutors alleged that Gomes created fake email addresses to pull off the crime, even after the customer passed away.

"To cover up his scheme, Gomes created a fraudulent email address containing the customer’s name, which he used to engage in fictitious conversations with his own official bank email address to make it appear that the customer was communicating with him," officials said. "Gomes continued the scheme even after the customer’s death on April 5, 2020."

The accused took an estimated 208,938.68. He was charged with one count of wire fraud affecting a financial institution and pleaded guilty in May.

According to the DOJ, Gomes was given three years of supervised release in addition to prison time and ordered to pay back the money by forfeiting criminal proceeds and restitution.

Taylor Ardrey is a news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at [email protected]