Fmr. Ocean Bank Exec Sentenced In Bribery Scam
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A former executive of Miami-based Ocean Bank has been sentenced to 37 months in prison from for accepting bribes and then failing to report them on his federal income tax returns.
In addition to prison time, Danilo P. Perez was also sentenced to one year of supervised release.
Last January, Perez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to solicit or demand money and other things of value to influence an employee of a financial institution and three counts of tax offenses.
Prosecutors said Perez accepting nearly half a million dollars in cash and other items of value in connection with his supervision of certain customer business with the bank.
As vice president, Perez generally oversaw Ocean Bank's lending relationships with corporate customers of the bank. He admitted he accepted the payments and then used his role to approved Ocean Bank's issuance of letters of credit, loans and overdraft privileges.
In addition to substantial amounts of cash, Perez admitted to accepting expensive watches, Super Bowl tickets and other items for his personal use.
Perez also admitted that he failed to report the bribes as income for tax years 2005, 2006 and 2007, resulting in lost tax revenue of approximately $91,000 to the federal government.
After Perez was sentenced, Ocean Bank issued a statement.
"Mr. Perez's sentencing helps brings closure to a regrettable and painful episode in which Ocean Bank was defrauded by a trusted 27-year employee in a senior management role," according to the statement. "The bank has installed new senior lenders since his departure in 2010. We want to thank the more than 600 employees who serve our customers daily, comply with our Code of Conduct and continue to move the bank in a positive direction."
