Fed bars former bank employee who took customer funds; hits bank with $11k penalty over flood insurance violations

A prohibition of a former bank loan officer and civil money penalty against a bank over flood insurance violations were announced Thursday by the Federal Reserve Board.

In an April 6 consent order, the Fed said that Blake King, a former loan officer for Farmers Bank of Northern Missouri, Unionville, Mo., between January and December 2019 moved a total of $45,391.92 from a customer’s account into his own, forging the signature of the affected customer on internal bank transfer documents in doing so. He kept this up after he resigned until February 2020. The Fed said King caused a loss to the bank of approximately $30,746.23 and “posed financial, legal, and reputational risks.”

In another order dated March 31, the Fed imposed a $11,000 civil money penalty on The Missouri Bank, Warrenton, Mo., as the successor of The Missouri Bank II, Sedalia, Mo., which the Fed said had engaged in a pattern or practice of violations of Fed rules implementing the National Flood Insurance Act. The act provides for penalties up to $2,000 for each violation. The order notes that The Missouri Bank II merged into The Missouri Bank on April 4, 2020.

Federal Reserve Board issues enforcement actions with former employee of Farmers Bank and the Missouri Bank