Gary Foster, 35, a former vice president in Citigroup Inc.’s treasury finance department, was sentenced to 97 months’ imprisonment today on a conviction for bank fraud arising from his embezzlement of more than $22 million from Citigroup. Foster was sentenced by the Honorable Eric N. Vitaliano, United States District Judge, at the United States Courthouse in Brooklyn.
The sentence was announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
Between September 2003 and June 2011, Foster embezzled more than $22 million from various Citigroup accounts by first transferring money to Citigroup’s cash account and then wiring it to his personal bank account at another bank. Foster concealed his thefts by making various false accounting entries to create the appearance that the cash account was in balance and by placing a fraudulent contract or deal number in the reference line of the wire transfer instructions to give the appearance that the wire transfers were actually in support of an existing Citigroup contract. Foster used the money to buy real estate and luxury automobiles, including a Ferrari and a Maserati. The government has restrained real estate purchased by Foster in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and New Jersey and seized numerous luxury automobiles and bank accounts that he controlled. In total, the value of the seized and restrained property is estimated to be approximately $14 million. Foster forfeited the property pursuant to the terms of his guilty plea agreement with the government.
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