Business

Former Synovus vice president barred from banking over alleged embezzlement

Synovus is a Southeast regional bank headquartered in downtown Columbus, with its corporate office overlooking the Chattahoochee River. --
Synovus is a Southeast regional bank headquartered in downtown Columbus, with its corporate office overlooking the Chattahoochee River. -- Ledger-Enquirer file photo

A former Synovus senior vice president has been barred from the banking industry after she allegedly embezzled funds and falsified bank records, the Federal Reserve ruled on Thursday.

Angela Garcia, a senior vice president and residential loan servicing director with the Columbus headquartered bank, allegedly took $69,039 from a general bank ledger account and deposited the funds into accounts of her relatives between 2020 and 2021.

Garcia then made fraudulent entries in the bank’s records regarding those transactions, according to the prohibition order issued by the Federal Reserve.

Synovus fired Garcia on June 2, 2021, and she is no longer involved with the banking industry. She has agreed to reimburse the bank. Garcia did not admit to or deny the allegations put forth by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

The order was first reported by American Banker, a trade publication that covers the financial services industry.

It’s unclear if criminal charges have been filed against Garcia. A Synovus spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment before publication. The Ledger-Enquirer will update this story when it receives a response.

This story was originally published May 6, 2022 at 10:44 AM.

Nick Wooten
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
Nick Wooten is the Accountability/Investigative reporter for the Ledger-Enquirer where he is responsible for covering several topics, including Georgia politics. His work may also appear in the Macon Telegraph. Nick was given the Georgia Press Association’s 2021 Emerging Journalist award for his coverage of elections, COVID-19 and Columbus’ LGBTQ+ community. Before joining McClatchy, he worked for The (Shreveport La.) Times covering city government and investigations. He is a graduate of Mercer University in Macon, Georgia.
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