A former Citigroup vice president has admitted to embezzling $22 million from his employer.
Gary Foster, 35, pleaded guilty in a Brooklyn, N.Y., federal courtroom to bank fraud charges, telling the judge, “I did this from my Citigroup office.”
He now faces up to 30 years in prison, and may be fined as much as $44 million. Reports RollingOut:
As a Citigroup VP, Foster earned $100,000 annually, but he lived an extravagant lifestyle that included the purchase of a Ferrari, a Maserati GranTurismo and a BMW 550i — along with the services of a personal chauffeur to drive him around in the cars. The New York Post reported that Foster frequented expensive spas for facials and massages, and was a regular on the New York party scene where he sported expensive clothes and jewelry and often dropped $2,000 on bottle service.
The New York Post reports:
Authorities alleged that beginning in May 2009, and continuing until last December, Foster wired $19.2 million from internal Citi accounts into his personal Chase bank account.
He allegedly covered up the scam by assigning phony contract or deal numbers to make the transfers appear legit, and had himself assigned as contact person if there were problems, a criminal complaint charges.
Foster allegedly dropped $12 million of the embezzled money on properties in Midtown and New Jersey, bought a Garden State house for his parents and paid off a mortgage for his ex-wife.
In December, a month before quitting, Foster dropped $3 million on a 10,000-square-foot, six-bedroom mansion in Englewood Cliffs, NJ, and $1.93 million on a Rockefeller Center apartment right across West 48th Street from a Citi branch.
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