• AML
  • Qui Tam
  • SEC
  • CFTC
  • FCPA
  • FAQS
Subscribe
Donate
No Result
View All Result
Whistleblower Network News
The Truth at Any Cost.
Qui Tam, Compliance and Anti-Corruption News.
Whistleblower Network News
No Result
View All Result
Home AML Rewards

USAA Whistleblower Claims AML Sanctions Against Company “Are Just the Tip of the Iceberg”

Geoff SchwellerbyGeoff Schweller
May 10, 2022
in AML Rewards
Reading Time: 4 mins read
USAA Whistleblower
Share on TwitterShare on FacebookShare on LinkedInEmail

According to a former compliance officer, officials at USAA “intentionally” hid illegal practices for U.S. regulators for years despite concerns raised internally by compliance staff, Compliance Week reports. The whistleblower claims that anti-money laundering sanctions levied against the bank earlier this year “are just the tip of the iceberg.”

Lenn Ferrer, a former compliance officer at USAA Federal Savings Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of USAA, blew the whistle on USAA’s compliance shortcomings to federal regulators in March 2020. The same day Ferrer blew the whistle, he was fired. According to Compliance Week, USAA claims Ferrer’s termination was for “creat[ing] a toxic employment atmosphere by engaging in threatening and inappropriate conduct towards coworkers.”

On March 17, 2022, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crime Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced a $140 million civil money penalty against USAA Federal Savings Bank for willful violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). According to FinCEN, USAA “admitted that it willfully failed to implement and maintain an anti‑money laundering (AML) program that met the minimum requirements of the BSA from at least January 2016 through April 2021,” and “also admitted that it willfully failed to accurately and timely report thousands of suspicious transactions to FinCEN involving suspicious financial activity by its customers, including customers using personal accounts for apparent criminal activity.”

Register for National Whistleblower Day

That same day, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced a $60 million civil money penalty against USAA based on the same AML violations. In October 2020, the OCC assessed an $85 million penalty against the bank “based on the bank’s failure to implement and maintain an effective compliance risk management program and an effective information technology risk governance program.”

“These fines are just the tip of the iceberg,” Ferrer told Compliance Week. “They (USAA) have been actively lying to regulators for years.”

According to Compliance Week, Ferrer’s allegations include “unreported violations of the Military Lending Act (MLA), internal warnings that went ignored, and deficiencies in its compliance controls.” Ferrer also reportedly claims that the orders against USAA to date “don’t begin to scratch the surface,” because they do not touch upon the mortgage fraud USAA was allegedly engaging in. “‘Their entire mortgage system was a fraud,’ Ferrer said in internal communications with USAA in February 2020. ‘We spent $200 million on a mortgage system that didn’t work,’” Compliance Week reports.

Ferrer also alleged widespread violations of the Military Lending Act (MLA), an act which affords special protections to active duty servicemembers and their dependents to prevent predatory lending practices. The OCC’s 2020 penalty against USAA cited an unspecified number of violations of the MLA. According to Compliance Week, “Ferrer told the OCC seven months earlier a consulting firm commissioned by the bank discovered an estimated 400,000 violations of the MLA as part of an OCC-mandated lookback.”

Ferrer states he “notified USAA executives on two different occasions of what he characterized as ‘predatory and potentially criminal practices against members of the military’ being committed by USAA Bank as it concerned ‘numerous violations of law,’” Compliance Week reports. Ferrer recounts the lack of action by USAA in response to his allegations. According to Compliance Week, Ferrer said: “‘They didn’t have an investigator contact me. They did nothing and allowed the illegal conduct to continue.’”

Under the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020, whistleblowers who report AML violations to FinCEN can qualify for monetary awards. However, whistleblowers warn that loopholes in the law will undermine the whistleblower award program. Thus, advocates are calling for the passage of reform bills introduced in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

Read:

​Whistleblower: USAA ‘actively lying to regulators for years’ regarding violations of law | Article | Compliance Week

More AML Whistleblower News on WNN

Tags: Corporate Whistleblowers
Previous Post

Amazon Subsidiary PillPack, LLC to Pay $5.79 Million in False Claims Act Settlement

Next Post

John Hinman Announced as Next Director of IRS Whistleblower Office

Geoff Schweller

Geoff Schweller

Geoff Schweller is the Assistant News Editor for Whistleblower Network News. He coordinates news coverage, and also writes about breaking whistleblower news, SEC whistleblowers, IRS whistleblowers, CFTC whistleblowers, and federal employee whistleblowers. Geoff graduated from Hamilton College with a degree in Sociology and minors in French & Francophone Studies and Cinema & New Media Studies.

Next Post
IRS Whistleblowing

John Hinman Announced as Next Director of IRS Whistleblower Office

Receive Daily Alerts

Subscribe to receive daily breaking news and legislative developments sent to your inbox.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Most Popular

Advocates Detail Need for SEC Whistleblower Reform

Raytheon Whistleblower Receives $1.5 Million for Alleging Cybersecurity Non-Compliance

Ruling Striking Down Trump Order Targeting Law Firm Seen as Crucial for Whistleblowers

MJH Healthcare Settles Whistleblower Allegations of Postal Rate Fraud for $2 Million

Poll Shows Overwhelming Support for Stronger Whistleblower Laws in Australia, Mirroring Polling in US

Four Whistleblowers Receive $1.3 Million for Alleging Genetic Testing Fraud Scheme

Whistleblower Poll

Whistleblower Poll
Whistleblower Poll

Exclusive Marist Poll: Overwhelming Public Support Among Likely Voters For Increased Whistleblower Protections

byGeoff Schweller
October 6, 2020

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

STAY INFORMED.
Subscribe to receive breaking whistleblower updates.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

About Us

  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Donate
  • Careers

Subscribe

  • Daily Mail
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • YouTube Channel

Contribute

  • Letter to the Editor
  • Submission Guidelines
  • Reprint Guidelines

Your Experience

  • Accessibility Statement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Help

  • Rules for Whistleblowers
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Advertise
Whistleblower Network News

Whistleblower Network News is an independent online newspaper providing our readers with up-to-date information on whistleblowing. Our goal is to be the best source of information on important qui tam, anti-corruption, compliance, and whistleblower law developments. 

Submit an Article

Copyright © 2025, Whistleblower Network News. All Rights Reserved.

This Newspaper/Web Site is made available by the publisher for educational purposes only as well as to give you general information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide specific legal advice. By using this website, you understand that there is no attorney-client relationship between you and the Newspaper/Web Site publisher. The Newspaper/Web Site should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your state.

Become a Whistleblower Network News Subscriber

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Subscribe to WNN

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Subscribe to WNN
RSVP to National Whistleblower Day 2025! July 30, 2025 on Capitol Hill
RSVP NOW

Add New Playlist

No Result
View All Result
  • Exclusives
  • Government
    • False Claims-Qui Tam
    • Federal Employees
    • Intelligence
  • Corporate
    • CFTC & Commodities
    • Dodd-Frank
    • IRS & Tax
    • SEC & Securities
  • Features
  • Legislation
  • International
    • Foreign Corruption
  • Rewards
  • Whistleblower of the Week
  • Environment & Climate
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Employment
    • Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblowers
    • Retaliation
    • OSHA
  • Make National Whistleblower Day Permanent
  • Media
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • National Whistleblower Day
  • Whistleblower Poll
  • Whistleblower Resources
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Resources for Locating An Attorney
    • The New Whistleblowers Handbook

Copyright © 2024, Whistleblower Network News. All Rights Reserved.

Go to mobile version