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 did not make a victim’s relative a co-singer on the victim’s account, preventing them from monitoring the account, 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“Much of the money was withdrawn as cash,” the release stated.
Eight victims have been identified, according to the release, including one woman who had more than $546,000 stolen from retirement accounts. Wells Fargo reimbursed victims for their losses, the release stated.
Davie made an appearance in U.S. District Court in Yakima on Monday. This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Wells Fargo investigation team.
