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The Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office (MDSO) and the Florida State Attorney's Office announced this Tuesday the arrest of a former Bank of America employee, accused of having stolen more than half a million dollars from a woman with a disability.
The authorities identified the suspect as Mario Martínez, 40 years old, a former employee of the bank branch in southwest Miami-Dade, who with a physical disability.
Martínez faces multiple serious charges, including exploitation of an elderly person or disabled adult for over $50,000; organized scheme to defraud $50,000 or more; grand theft exceeding $100,000; and criminal use of personal identification information, all first-degree felonies, as announced this Tuesday at a press conference held by State Attorney Katherine Fernández Rundle and Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz.
The police began investigating the case on January 16, after receiving a call from a supervisor at the Bank of America branch reporting a possible fraud scheme involving one of its employees.
According to a sworn statement, the official was taking money from a bank client and had opened joint accounts with the victim without her knowledge, from which he transferred money to his personal account without her consent.
Fernández Rundle revealed details of the case to reporters this Tuesday. He explained that the victim - identified as Ms. Lovell Frank in court documents - cannot walk and requires a special motorized wheelchair and 24-hour care.
The woman met Martínez in 2016 when he helped her at the bank and assisted her in opening at least one bank account. At some point, she mentioned to him that she had received an inheritance and was having difficulty managing her finances, and he offered to help her.
"The victim recalls entering the bank and telling the man that she had recently inherited a large sum of money," said Fernández Rundle. "He explained to her that he was a financial advisor and could accept her as a client to invest and manage her money. The victim trusted him."
The detectives warned that Martínez was not a financial advisor, so he was not authorized to open or manage investment accounts.
The state prosecutor stated that the victim never authorized the opening of the accounts nor was aware of their existence from which Martínez was withdrawing the money.
In December 2024, Bank of America conducted an internal investigation and informed the victim that Martínez was diverting her money.
According to court records cited by news outlets, when confronted by his supervisor, Martínez confessed to having taken money from a client's account.
The Prosecutor's Office reported that the individual tried to persuade the woman not to report the incidents to the police.
After uncovering the entire scheme, Bank of America and the victim reported the fraud to the MDSO. Martínez was fired.
"The investigation finally revealed that Martínez used the victim's trust and his banking position to allegedly steal more than half a million dollars," Fernández Rundle stated.
The investigators alleged that Martínez knew how to evade bank alerts and internal systems to avoid detection.
"Crimes like this are deeply alarming because they take advantage of the trust, dependence, and dignity of the victims," emphasized Sheriff Cordero-Stutz.
The investigation was a collaboration between the Organized Crime Bureau of the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office and the Elderly and Vulnerable Adults Task Force of the State Attorney's Office.
Upon learning of Martínez's arrest, Bank of America stated that the accused has not worked at the bank for approximately a year. “Following his termination, the following information was submitted to the regulatory agencies. This is a mandatory procedure for financial institutions when an employee is dismissed,” the entity emphasized, according to the report from Telemundo 51.
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