The former manager of the Wells Fargo branch in Battle Ground faces charges after he allegedly stole more than $1 million from elderly customers, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on Monday, July 11.
Battle Ground resident Brian Davie, 43, faces charges of bank fraud and aggravated identity theft in U.S. District Court, a news release from the department stated. Davie worked at the Wells Fargo in Battle Ground from March 2014 until he was fired in June 2019, according to the release.
The criminal complaint against Davie alleges he used his position at the bank to make unauthorized transactions. Davie had access to customer files with information on account balances and examples of customer signatures, the release stated. He used the information to forge cashier’s checks, withdrawal slips and other bank forms. Allegedly, he hid the activity “by repeatedly exchanging cashier’s checks until they were small enough to cash without triggering banking reporting requirements,” according to the release.
Davie was able to continue undetected by targeting elderly customers who were less likely to closely monitor their accounts, the complaint alleges. Some of his victims had dementia or limited English skills and did not understand the transactions.
In one of the cases, Davie closed accounts where a relative of one of the victims was a co-signer and reopened new accounts for the victim without the relative, the complaint stated. In two instances Davie used the signature of another Wells Fargo customer on a withdrawal from that victim’s account, the complaint states. The bank investigation turned up more unauthorized transactions from the victim’s account, and paid the victim out nearly $547,000 for the money that was lost by transactions conducted or authorized by Davie.
The complaint stated another victim, who lost nearly $155,000, relied on Davie for financial guidance. She eventually noticed a number of unauthorized transactions that were allegedly made by Davie. The woman said her money “just disappeared.”
Eight victims have been identified, according to the release. Wells Fargo reimbursed victims for their losses, the release stated.
Davie deposited some of the money from the alleged fraud and identity theft into an account created in the name of a relative’s business, the release stated. Some of the checks were made payable to that relative or the business account.
“Much of the money was withdrawn as cash,” the release stated.
Wells Fargo began an internal investigation in April 2019, the complaint stated. The complaint states Davie was fired for making customer transactions without their presence and identification, accessing customer accounts with no business reason and operating a cash drawer without authority.
The bank reported their findings to the Federal Bureau of Investigation that July, the complaint stated.
In January of 2022, an FBI agent interviewed Davie at his home. Davie reportedly told the agent he had no knowledge about the unauthorized transactions he allegedly conducted, the complaint stated. After the interview, Davie allegedly sent a text message to his teenage daughter and confronted her on how the agency knew where he lived, the complaint stated. In April, Davie’s ex-wife told the agent Davie had texted their daughter he was going to leave the country after he received a target letter from the FBI earlier that month.
Davie made an appearance in U.S. District Court in Yakima on Monday, July 11. The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Wells Fargo investigation team.
