Former Citigroup Vice President Sentenced to 97 Months for Embezzling More Than $22 Million

Gary Foster, a former vice president in Citigroup, Inc.’s treasury finance department, was sentenced to 97 months’ imprisonment today on a conviction for bank fraud arising from his embezzlement of more than $22 million from Citigroup. Foster was sentenced by the Hon. Eric N. Vitaliano, United States District Judge, at the United States Courthouse in Brooklyn.

The sentence was announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

Between September 2003 and June 2011, Foster embezzled more than $22 million from various Citigroup accounts by first transferring money to Citigroup’s cash account and then wiring it to his personal bank account at another bank. Foster concealed his thefts by making various false accounting entries to create the appearance that the cash account was in balance and by placing a fraudulent contract or deal number in the reference line of the wire transfer instructions to give the appearance that the wire transfers were actually in support of an existing Citigroup contract. Foster used the money to buy real estate and luxury automobiles, including a Ferrari and a Maserati. The government has restrained real estate purchased by Foster in Brooklyn, Manhattan and New Jersey and seized numerous luxury automobiles and bank accounts that her controlled. In total, the value of the seized and restrained property is estimated to be approximately $14 million. Foster forfeited the property pursuant to the terms of his guilty plea agreement with the government.

Ms. Lynch extended her grateful appreciation to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office, the agency that led the government’s investigation.

The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Michael L. Yaeger and Karen R. Hennigan.

The Defendant:

Gary Foster
Age: 35