city settles with suntrust bank

Since the theft of nearly $3.7m from one of its bank accounts, the City has worked to recover the stolen funds and improve its processes. This week, Miami Beach Commissioners approved a settlement agreement with SunTrust Bank and online sports broker STR to recapture a large chunk of what went missing. A New York man was charged this past June in the theft in a scheme that involved buying and selling tickets to sporting events.

To date, the City has recovered $2.063m. With the settlement, SunTrust will pay the City $536,258 and another $900,000 will come from STR. That leaves a deficit of $187,368, which the City expects to recoup through the renewal of its contract with SunTrust with what City Manager Jimmy Morales told Commissioners were “significantly improved financial terms”. SunTrust will pay the City additional interest to be earned each month through December 31, 2019. 
 
In a press release the City emphasized, [T]here has been no evidence that a city employee was involved in any way related to the criminal acts.”
 
“With the community’s best interest in mind, city staff continue to work towards recovering the remaining $187,368, which is anticipated to be recovered by the end of the first quarter in 2018,” according to the release.
 
Improved controls implemented since the theft include “ACH Fraud Controls; setting up a unique account identifier issued by financial institutions that allows organizations to receive electronic payments without divulging confidential banking information; instituting a daily review and reconciliation of all non-check disbursements, and several other security measures. These efforts have ensured that all municipal accounts are secure against future fraud and theft.”