Bank of America Manager Charged with Embezzlement

A manager at the Bank of America on Federal Street in Boston has been charged with federal wire-fraud and money-laundering charges for allegedly embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from an investment firm with two dozen accounts at the bank. The investigation found that Waqas Ali, the firm's client-relationship manager at the time, diverted $1.5 million from three of the firm's accounts and kept $600,000 for himself. Ali used the embezzled funds to pay off credit-card debt, buy luxury items, and purchase a Porsche SUV, which he later sold for a significant profit.

Key Takeaways:

Waqas Ali, a Bank of America manager, is charged with embezzling $1.5 million from an investment firm with two dozen accounts at the bank.
Ali allegedly diverted funds from three of the firm's accounts, keeping $600,000 for himself and returning the rest to the legitimate accounts.
He used the embezzled funds to pay off $144,000 worth of credit-card debt and purchase luxury items worth $90,914.
Ali bought a Porsche SUV with embezzled funds and later sold it for a profit.
He used his ATM card for the bogus account to make withdrawals totaling more than $221,000.
Ali closed the fraudulent account on July 12, 2017, after a 10-month period of embezzlement.
The firm's employee discovered discrepancies in its books in August 2018, prompting the investigation.
Ali allegedly used the embezzled funds to wire $18,500 to a relative's account in Pakistan.

Statistics:

$1.5 million: The amount allegedly embezzled by Ali from the investment firm's accounts.
$600,000: The amount Ali kept for himself from the embezzled funds.
$144,000: The amount used to pay off credit-card debt.
$90,914: The value of luxury items purchased with embezzled funds.
$63,293: The amount used to help buy a Porsche SUV.
$48,900: The profit made from selling the Porsche SUV.
$221,000: The total amount withdrawn from ATMs using the bogus account.
10 months: The duration of Ali's alleged embezzlement.
$1.3 million: The largest transfer made from the firm's real accounts to the fraudulent account.
2 dozen: The number of accounts the investment firm had at the Bank of America.

Sources:

"FBI affidavit"