A 44-year-old former bank manager from Battle Ground was sentenced to 42 months in prison for bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, Feb. 20, in the U.S. District Court in Tacoma.
Brian Davie, a former branch manager at Wells Fargo, used unauthorized cash withdrawals, money transfers and cashier’s checks to steal over $1 million, U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman said in a news release. Davie targeted elderly and vulnerable customers, with eight victims identified. One woman had more than $566,000 stolen from her retirement accounts, according to the news release.
“The wake of damage in this case is large… Our society depends on the trust of those who hold our finances,” U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle said at the sentencing hearing.
Davie worked for Wells Fargo in Battle Ground from March 2014 until he was fired in June 2019. According to case records, Davie used his position as a manager at the branch to conduct unauthorized transactions. Davie hid his criminal activity by repeatedly exchanging cashier’s checks until they were small enough to cash without triggering banking reporting requirements, according to the news release.
Davie went undetected because he stole from elderly customers who might be less likely to closely monitor their account balances, the release stated. Some of Davie’s victims had dementia or limited English skills and did not understand banking transactions.
In all, Davie embezzled $1,279,840 from victim accounts. Wells Fargo partially reimbursed victims for their losses.
Settle will impose the restitution amount Davie owes on March 18.
