By Allan Lengel
ticklethewire.com
For those who like to vent about the greed of bankers, here’s more ammunition: Meet Gary Foster, the vice president in Citigroup, Inc.’s treasury finance department.
Foster pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Brooklyn to bank fraud involving the theft of more than $22 million from Citigroup between September 2003 to June 2011, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Foster entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Eric N. Vitaliano.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn says Foster used the money to buy real estate and luxury cars including a Ferrari and a Maserati.
Authorities alleged that Foster transferred money from various Citigroup accounts to Citigroup’s cash account, then wired the money to his personal bank account at another bank.
Authorities said he concealed his crooked deeds by making false accounting entries to create the appearance that the cash account was in balance and by placing a fraudulent contract or deal number in the reference line of the wire transfer instructions to give the appearance that the wire transfers were actually in support of an existing Citigroup contract.
“The defendant violated his employer’s trust and stole a stunning amount of money over an extended period of time to finance his personal lifestyle,” U.S. Attorney Loretta E. Lynch said in a statement.
