Definitions

The Anti Money Laundering Network defines bank fraud as:

the actions by any person to obtain by deception the payment of money by the bank to himself or any
other person.
An example would be the obtaining of a loan by deception.
For information as to how The Anti Money Laundering Network can help you identify customers who
are most likely to commit a fraud against the bank, or to use it for money laundering or terrorist
financing, please visit www.riskvalues.com

Banker created false loan to customer

A Vice President of Farmers and Merchants Bank in Laguna Hills, California USA granted a loan to a
customer. But the Customer did not apply for the loan and the banker stole the money.
Matthew J. Walker, 34, of Orange County, California, USA used a line of credit made available to a
trust that held an account with the bank to withdraw more than USD1 million over a period of some 16
months. .
To hide his fraud, he made interest payments on the amount he stole.
Walker pleaded guilty in December 2011 and will be sentenced in May 2012. Under a plea agreement,
Walker pleaded guilty in return for prosecutors recommending a sentence of four years in jail. The
Court may accept or reject that recommendation.
UPDATE:
On 23 July 2012, Walker was sentenced to 41 months in jail. The total amount he stole was calculated
to be USD1.8 million and he was ordered to repay that amount.
Walker pleaded guilty to one count of theft of bank funds in November 2011, specifically admitting that
he stole nearly $2 million over a 16-month period that ended in July 2010. Walker withdrew money
from a line of credit in the name of a trust that held an account at Farmers and Merchants. To cover
up the scheme, Walker made interest payments on the money supposedly loaned to the trust.
Walker stole almost $2 million dollars from a client for a personal venture where he was trying to hit it
big, prosecutors told the Court. Much like gambling, [Walker] used the money on a start-up

company that he was intimately involved in and where he could win or lose. Like most risky gambles,
he ultimately lost it all.