The Federal Reserve has banned a former teller for First Horizon Bank from the banking industry for embezzling roughly $34,000 for her "personal benefit."
On Tuesday, the Fed made public a consent order prohibiting Khalila Cooper, who worked from late 2021 to early 2024 at $81.2 billion-asset First Horizon in Memphis, Tennessee.
The Fed's consent order bans Cooper from ever working at a bank, a bank holding company, a foreign bank or any bank subsidiary. She cannot participate "in any manner in the conduct of the affairs of any institution or agency," the Fed said in the
The Fed didn't provide any details of how Cooper stole money from First Horizon. The embezzlement took place over a six month period from August 2023 to February 2024, when she was terminated by First Horizon. The bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Cooper's conduct "constituted violations of law or regulation, unsafe or unsound banking practices, and breaches of fiduciary duty, and involved her personal dishonesty and her willful and continuing disregard for the safety and soundness of the bank," the Fed said.
Bank tellers and managers have instant access to customer accounts and personal data and also
By signing the order, Cooper waived her rights to a hearing, judicial review or any other challenge, which allowed the matter to be settled without a formal proceeding or litigation, the Fed said. However, any violation of the order can subject Cooper to civil or criminal penalties. Cooper could not be reached for comment.
Embezzlement is a felony offense in most jurisdictions when the value of money stolen exceeds $1,000. In nearly all embezzlement cases, courts require restitution and the embezzler usually is required to repay the victim — in this case, First Horizon — the amount that was stolen.
The Fed and other federal banking agencies have broad discretion to determine the appropriate enforcement in addressing fraud and other misconduct committed by insiders against depository institutions. A typical remedy is for regulations to tack action under the
Banks can mitigate exposure to fraud loss by discovering fraud schemes early, taking aggressive corrective actions, and carrying adequate insurance, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, Cooper also is barred from "soliciting, procuring, transferring, attempting to transfer, voting or attempting to vote any proxy, consent, or authorization with respect to any voting rights in any institution."
