Southern California

Bank Manager Gets Prison for Money Laundering Scheme

The case is part of an operation called "Phantom Bank," which resulted in indictments of 25 defendants. Nine have been convicted. Sixteen await trial.

The manager of a Southern California bank branch has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for conspiring to launder more than $25,000 in cash by converting it into cashier's checks.

The Los Angeles U.S. Attorney's Office says 54-year-old Vivian Tat of Hacienda Heights was also sentenced Monday to pay a $2,000 fine.

Tat and a co-defendant were found guilty in September of conspiring to commit money laundering and Tat also was convicted of two counts of causing a false statement in a bank record.

The U.S. Attorney's Office says Tat is a vice president at East West Bank who is currently on administrative leave.

The case is part of an operation called "Phantom Bank," which resulted in indictments of 25 defendants. Nine have been convicted. Sixteen await trial.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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