Long-Time Employee Defrauded Bank Of $1.7 Million In Span Of 12 Years

An unidentified New York bank's former employee, who had been arrested for allegedly defrauding the financial institution of some US$1.7 million over the span of 12 years, has pleaded guilty to bank fraud and other charges on Monday, June 28, the U.S. Attorney’s Office confirmed.

Gangadai Rampersaud Azim, who also went by the American name “Julie Azim,” reportedly pled guilty on Monday, June 28, before U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla to more than a decade-long conspiracy to commit bank fraud, defrauding her employer, a Manhattan-based bank, by misappropriating approximately $1.7 million, Guyana Press reported.

Conspiring to commit bank fraud carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. Azim is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Failla on Oct. 19, 2021, at 3:30 p.m.

According to the complaint filed in the court, Azim, 58, stole approximately $1.7 million from her employer, a New York-based bank, over a period of 12 years between August 2008 and January 2021. The Guyana national also executed hundreds of dubious wire transfers of the bank's funds to co-conspirators and related companies, who then sent portions of these funds to Azim's personal bank account as payment.

Azim repeatedly made false entries in the bank's systems, misappropriated the funds paid by the clients to satisfy outstanding loan obligations, and also extended the maturity dates of various loan obligations, making it appear as though it had not yet been paid in full, the complaint alleged.

Azim even reportedly created new, fraudulent loans when the previous fraudulently extended maturity dates came due.

The long-haul fraud scheme finally came to light when Azim took a leave as a result of illness earlier this year. In January 2021, the bank reportedly debited money from the account of a client to pay off an outstanding loan obligation he had coming due. The client then contacted the bank and alerted that the debit was improper and that he had already paid off that obligation in 2019, the US Attorney’s Office said.

Further investigation revealed that while the funds had been withdrawn from the client's account, Azim had misappropriated those funds and had used them for her own personal gain, the United States Department of Justice reported.

Following this discovery, the bank reportedly launched a full investigation into the matter and discovered about 14 fraudulent loan obligations, worth more than about US$1 million, for which no underlying documents existed.

In addition, it was discovered that Azim had reportedly extended the maturity dates of five outstanding loan obligations, worth more than approximately US$706,000, despite the clients having already paid off the loans.

Azim’s fraud not only victimized her employer but also risked the financial standing of the customers whose accounts she manipulated, William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said.

Azim is reportedly charged in the complaint with conspiring to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison; bank fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison; and wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

In addition to these charges, she is also charged with bank theft, embezzlement, or misapplication, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison; conspiring to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; and money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.