Ameris Bank Employee Charged in $932K Crypto Theft Scheme

A former Georgia banker has been charged with bank fraud and bribery after allegedly helping to steal nearly $932,000 from customers' accounts at Ameris Bank.

Mercedes Henry, a 35-year-old universal banker at several Atlanta-area branches of Ameris Bank, is accused of using customer information to link their accounts to Coinbase accounts controlled by her co-conspirators.

The alleged theft occurred between September and November 2021, with at least six instances where customers' account details were used without their knowledge or consent.

Prosecutors say Henry received more than $1,000 in exchange for her role in the scheme, which involved the fraudulent transfer of approximately $931,500 from victims' accounts to Coinbase accounts controlled by the conspirators.