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Manhattan Bank Employee Arrested for $1.7 Million Bank Fraud Scheme

Gangadai Rampersaud Azim, a 58-year-old resident of Richmond Hill, New York, has pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit bank fraud, defrauding her employer, a Manhattan-based bank, of nearly $1.7 million over the course of 12 years.

According to the allegations, Azim, who worked at the bank since 2008, stole the funds by executing hundreds of wire transfers to co-conspirators and related companies, who then sent portions of the ill-gotten funds to Azim’s personal bank account. The scheme involved repeatedly making false entries in the bank’s systems and extending the maturity dates of loan obligations to conceal the fraud.

Azim, also known as ‘Julie Azim,’ abused her position at the bank and enriched herself at the expense of her employer. The scheme resulted in approximately 200 improper wire transfers, each for an amount under $10,000, being sent to third-party accounts, including those of co-conspirators and related companies.

The investigation, led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, revealed that Azim’s scheme continued from August 2008 to January 2021. The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Reilly in charge of the prosecution.

U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI in this case, stating, ‘As she admitted today, Gangadai Azim betrayed her position as a trusted bank employee to defraud the bank and misappropriate nearly $1.7 million in client funds over the course of more than a dozen years. Now Azim awaits sentencing for her crime.’

Azim faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison for her crimes. She is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla on October 19, 2021, at 3:30 p.m. The case is a reminder of the importance of vigilance in preventing and detecting financial crimes within institutions.