OCC Announces Enforcement Actions for December 2024

WASHINGTON—The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today released enforcement actions taken against national banks and federal savings associations (banks), and individuals currently and formerly affiliated with banks the OCC supervises.

The OCC uses enforcement actions against banks to require the board of directors and management to take timely actions to correct the deficient practices or violations identified. Actions taken against banks are:

• Formal Agreement with The Fairfield National Bank, Fairfield, Illinois, for unsafe or unsound practices, including those related to staffing and training, credit risk rating, credit underwriting, credit administration, loan review, allowance for credit losses, and a violation related to failure to file true and correct Reports of Condition and Income. (Docket No. AA-CE-2024-90)
• Formal Agreement with The First National Bank of Williamson, Williamson, West Virginia, for unsafe or unsound practices, including those related to staffing, capital planning, strategic planning, interest rate risk management, audit committee oversight, allowances for credit losses, credit administration, and commercial credit. (Docket No. AA-NE-2024-93)
• Cease and Desist Order against USAA, Federal Savings Bank, Phoenix, Arizona, for unsafe or unsound practices, including those related to management, earnings, information technology, consumer compliance, and internal audit; suspicious activity reporting violations; and noncompliance with guidelines establishing heightened standards applicable to the bank. This order replaces cease and desist orders issued against the bank dated January 7, 2019 (Docket No. AA-EC-2018-90), and March 19, 2022 (Docket No. AA-EC-2022-2). Refer to OCC News Release 2024-137. (Docket No. AA-ENF-2024-96)

The OCC uses enforcement actions against an institution-affiliated party (IAP) to deter, encourage correction of, or prevent violations, unsafe or unsound practices, or breaches of fiduciary duty. Enforcement actions against IAPs reinforce the accountability of individuals for their conduct regarding the affairs of a bank. The term “institution-affiliated party,” or IAP, is defined in 12 USC 1813(u) and includes bank directors, officers, employees, and controlling shareholders. Orders of Prohibition prohibit an individual from any participation in the affairs of a bank or other institution as defined in 12 USC 1818(e)(7). Actions taken against IAPs are:

• Notice of Charges for Order of Prohibition against Armando De Leon, former Store Manager at a Hialeah, Florida, branch of TD Bank, N.A., Wilmington, Delaware. The Notice of Charges alleges, among other things, that while he was a bank employee, De Leon submitted fraudulent Payment Protection Program loan applications that received over $80,000 in funding. (Docket No. AA-ENF-2024-35)
• Notice of Charges for Order of Prohibition against Emily M. Niedwiecky, former Senior Customer Service Representative at a Raleigh, North Carolina, Auto Operations Center of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Notice of Charges alleges, among other things, that Niedwiecky falsely disputed with the bank approximately $22,000 in purchases she made with her personal debit cards. (Docket No. AA-ENF-2024-30)
• Order of Prohibition against Wendell Pialet, former Business Relationship Manager at a San Diego, California, branch of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Columbus, Ohio, for accepting a bribe to open a bank account that was to be used to receive proceeds from fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loans. (Docket No. AA-ENF-2024-92)

The OCC terminates enforcement actions when a bank has demonstrated compliance with all articles of an enforcement action; or when the OCC determines that articles deemed “not in compliance” have become outdated or irrelevant to the bank’s current circumstances; or when the OCC incorporates the articles deemed “not in compliance” into a new action. Termination actions include:

• Order Terminating the Cease and Desist Order against Lake Shore Savings Bank, Dunkirk, New York, dated February 9, 2023 (Docket No. AA-NE-2023-03). The order addressed unsafe or unsound practices, including those relating to information technology and board and management oversight. The order also addressed unsafe or unsound practices and violations of law related to Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering. (Docket No. AA-NE-2024-104).

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All OCC public enforcement actions taken since August 1989 are available for download by viewing the searchable enforcement actions database at https://apps.occ.gov/EASearch.

Related Link

• Enforcement Action Types