A former senior employee for the government regulator has been convicted of embezzling confidential information on some of the world’s largest banks
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A former senior employee of a federal regulator has been convicted of stealing confidential bank documents.
Allison Aytes, a former senior employee at the FDIC’s Office of Complex Financial Institutions, was convicted of theft of government property, according to the Department of Justice.
“Aytes embezzled sensitive and confidential information about banks that was the property of the United States government shortly before she resigned from the FDIC to seek job opportunities at those very same banks,” said US Attorney Richard P. Donoghue. “With today’s verdict, Aytes has been held accountable for abusing her position of trust for personal gain.”
“This case makes clear that those who compromise sensitive FDIC information will be held accountable for their actions,” said Jay N. Lerner, FDIC inspector general. “We are committed to investigating such breaches of public trust, and to protecting the integrity of confidential data maintained by the agency.”
The FDIC’s Office of Complex Financial Institutions was created after the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act to oversee and conduct, if necessary, an orderly bankruptcy of the world’s largest banks and financial institutions. The institutions overseen by the office are required to file resolution plans, also known as “living wills,” with the FDIC. The plans contain confidential information about the banks, including assets, business operations, and potential weaknesses that would pose a risk in a financial crisis.
In August of 2015, Aytes used her office computer to apply for jobs with financial institutions that had filed living wills with the FDIC. On Aug. 27, 2015, one day after being contacted about a possible position at one of those banks she logged onto a secure FDIC database and printed living-will information for that bank. Aytes quit the FDIC on Sept. 16, 2015. Investigation revealed that on her last day of work, she copied numerous files from the FDIC network to external USB drives, including living wills for banks where she had applied for employment.
Aytes faces up to 20 years in prison.
