White Collar Crime News

President of Money Services Company Charged with $12 Million Bank Fraud February 10, 2010

Robert Egan, the President of Mt. Vernon Money Centers (“MVMC”), has been charged with defrauding Webster Bank out of $12 million in funds that had been entrusted to MVMC. 

According to the Complaint filed today in Manhattan federal court:

Among other money services, MVMC performed the services of replenishing Automated Teller Machines (“ATMs”) for banks and other entities. One of MVMC’s clients was Webster Bank, which has 162 ATMs that MVMC was responsible for stocking. Webster Bank would transfer the funds needed to replenish their ATMs to a bank account to which MVMC had access. MVMC collected this cash, took it to its own cash vault where it filled ATM “canisters” with the cash. MVMC employees then removed the depleted or partially-depleted canisters from Webster ATMs and replaced them with newly filled canisters. The canisters removed from the ATMs by MVMC employees typically contained “residual cash” that was supposed to be returned to Webster Bank, or retained by MVMC for the benefit of Webster.

In January 2010, on eight separate occasions under EGAN’s direction, MVMC falsely represented to Webster Bank that it had returned the cash it had collected from Webster’s ATMs or was retaining the cash in its own vault for the benefit of Webster Bank. In fact, EGAN failed to return over $12 million of Webster Bank’s money to Webster Bank, and instead misappropriated the money for use in MVMC’s business operations.

On January 29, 2010, EGAN admitted that he had taken over $12 million of Webster Bank’s money without its knowledge or authorization. He stated that he used the money to fund other aspects of MVMC’s business, and to fund “shortfalls” with respect to other MVMC clients.

He is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.