MIAMI \u2014 Tom\u00e1s Niembro, the former chief executive officer of Nodus International Bank, is awaiting sentencing in Miami for a fraud estimated at more than $24 million. <\/p>\n
Niembro, 64, a Venezuelan who lived in Miami-Dade, pleaded guilty to federal charges and agreed to forfeit more than $16 million as part of a plea agreement on Thursday, according to prosecutors. <\/p>\n
IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Ron Loecker, of the Florida field office, released a statement<\/a> about the case on Friday. <\/p>\n \u201cExecutive-level fraud has real victims, and yesterday\u2019s outcome is a step toward restoring accountability and confidence in the banking system,\u201d Loecker said<\/a> about Niembro\u2019s guilty plea.<\/p>\n According to U.S. Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva, Niembro turned the bank he managed into a \u201cpersonal ATM,\u201d and he violated U.S. sanctions. The bank failed in 2023. <\/p>\n Niembro\u2019s crimes \u201cundermine the integrity of our financial system, threaten economic prosperity, and harm national security,\u201d said<\/a> Duva, of the Justice Department\u2019s criminal division. <\/p>\n From 2017 to 2023, Niembro and others prompted the bank to invest $11 million in a Miami-based lender, so Niembro could borrow the funds, according to federal prosecutors. <\/p>\n Niembro also prompted the bank\u2019s purchase of at least 47 promissory notes for $25.3 million from a Miami-based company that Niembro co-owned, and caused the bank to accept a loan portfolio from the company to pay down the debt, according to prosecutors. <\/p>\n Niembro \u201cused his position as CEO to siphon more than $24 million, hide conflicts of interest, and help drive the bank\u2019s collapse,\u201d U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Jason A. Reding Qui\u00f1ones said<\/a> on Friday. <\/p>\n Niembro also had the bank foreclose on a house owned by a sanctioned man and sold it back to him through a front company, according to prosecutors. <\/p>\n