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| * A book review of ''Panic At The Bank''. | * A book review of ''Panic At The Bank''. | ||
| * The owner of ''Allfirst'' bank at the time of the fraud. | * The owner of ''Allfirst'' bank at the time of the fraud. | ||
Revision as of 06:32, 6 November 2012
John Rusnak is a former currency trader at Allfirst bank, then part of AIB Group, in Baltimore, MD, United States. On January 17, 2003 he was sentenced to 7½ years in prison for hiding US$691 million in losses at the bank, after bad bets snowballed in one of the largest ever cases of bank fraud. He was transferred from prison to a halfway house in June 2008, to home confinement in September 2008, and ultimately released from home confinement on January 5, 2009, serving just under 6 years.
Rusnak could have faced up to 30 years in prison. The original 7½ year sentence was part of a plea bargain with US prosecutors. He was released early having earned good-behavior credits and completing a drug treatment program. Upon his release, he started paying US$1,000 a month for the five years of his probation.
Rusnak will remain on the hook for the full $691 million he lost, but prosecutors said the amount he pays back will depend on how much money he is able to make after leaving prison.
Following the scandal AIB sold Allfirst to M&T Bank of Buffalo, New York, in July 2003. AIB retained 23% of M&T stock. Although the news media blamed the scandal, the merger talks began prior to the revelation of the loses. In the banking environment at that time the merger was inevitable. Over 1,100 Allfirst employees lost their jobs in the sale.
See also
References
Panic At The Bank is a book written by Siobhán Creaton and Conor O'Clery, both journalists who followed the story for the Irish newspaper The Irish Times, that details the events which lead up to the fraud and how it was carried out and hidden from the bank's authorities. It is published by Gill and Macmillan.
External links
- Panic At The Bank A book review of Panic At The Bank.
- AIB Group The owner of Allfirst bank at the time of the fraud.
- Indictment document filed with the District Court of Maryland
- Baltimore Sun coverage of Rusnak's release