A former bank executive is facing a lifetime ban from the banking industry after allegedly stealing millions from his clients.
Millions Missing
William Shane Garrow, a former senior vice president at a BOK Financial subsidiary in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is accused of stealing approximately $3,437,536 from customer accounts between March 2021 and March 2024. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) says Garrow used the money for his own personal gain, without the knowledge or consent of his clients. The OCC deemed his actions unsafe and unsound banking practices, resulting in significant losses for the bank.
A Lifetime Ban and Criminal Charges
The OCC has issued an order prohibiting Garrow from ever working at any insured depository institution, including banks and credit unions. Garrow agreed to the ban without admitting or denying the OCC’s findings. This action follows Garrow’s guilty plea to bank fraud and filing a false tax return. He was recently sentenced to 71 months in prison, ordered to pay $3.86 million in restitution to victims, and an additional $1.519 million to the IRS.
The Scheme
Prosecutors revealed that Garrow used fraudulent wire transfers and cashier’s checks from at least 16 client accounts to accounts he controlled. If a client questioned a transaction, Garrow blamed it on a banking error and either returned the stolen funds or simply moved money from another victim’s account. According to US Attorney Clint Johnson, Garrow’s actions were a deliberate criminal scheme, not a simple mistake, and represented a serious breach of trust.
