John Harris, former SVP and Market Manager of Florida bank

The OCC has issued an Order for payment of a Civil Money Penalty and for removal and prohibition to John W. Harris. the former senior vice president and market manager for Gibraltar Private Bank & Trust Company, a Coral Gables, Florida, federal savings association, whom the OCC found was engaged in unsafe or unsound practices and breached his fiduciary duty of care by failing to properly maintain a set of accounts for a customer who was later found to be operating an illegal Ponzi scheme. According the the CMP order, the former banker "consistently approved overdrafts and uncollected balances without regard for the safety and soundness of the Bank, returned checks marked refer to maker, and failed to exercise customary diligence or judgment in overseeing the accounts." The individual was also found to have failed to report suspicious activity and to timely respond to inquiries from the bank's BSA department concerning the accounts. The bank is reported to have paid at least $15 million in litigation settlement payments to third parties who claimed the bank and its officers had aided and abetted fraudulent conduct and defrauded them.