John Rusnak is a former currency trader at Allfirst bank, then part of

AIB Group Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c. is one of the so-called Big Four (banking)#Ireland, Big Four commercial banks in Ireland. AIB offers a full range of personal, business and corporate banking services. The bank also offers a range of general insurance ...

, in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. On January 17, 2003 he was sentenced to years in prison for hiding US$691 million in losses at the bank in 2002, after bad bets snowballed in one of the largest ever cases of

bank fraud Bank fraud is the use of potentially illegal means to obtain money, assets, or other property owned or held by a financial institution, or to obtain money from depositors by fraudulently posing as a bank or other financial institution. In many ins ...

. He was transferred from prison to a halfway house in June 2008, to home confinement in September 2008, and ultimately released from home confinement on January 5, 2009, serving less than 6 years. Since his return to society, Rusnak has become an advocate for second chances for men coming home from incarceration and for those in drug and alcohol rehabilitation. Rusnak currently serves as the Executive Director of unCUFFED ministries working with juveniles who are incarcerated in adult detention facilities. Rusnak could have faced up to 30 years in prison. The original year sentence was part of a

plea bargain A plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor provides a concession to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or '' nolo contendere.'' This may mean that the defendan ...

with US prosecutors. He was released early having earned good-behavior credits and completing a drug treatment program. Upon his release, he started paying US$1,000 a month for the five years of his probation. Rusnak will remain on the hook for the full $691 million he lost, but prosecutors said the amount he pays back will depend on how much money he is able to make after leaving prison. Following the scandal, AIB sold Allfirst to

M&T Bank M&T Bank Corporation (Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company) is an American bank holding company headquartered in Buffalo, New York. It operates 1680 branches in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts ...

of Buffalo, New York, in July 2003. AIB retained 23% of M&T stock. Although the news media blamed the scandal, the merger talks actually began prior to the revelation of the losses. In the banking environment at that time the merger was inevitable. Over 1,100 Allfirst employees lost their jobs in the sale.

References

External links

Panic At The Bank
A book review of ''Panic At The Bank''.
AIB Group
The owner of ''Allfirst'' bank at the time of the fraud.
Indictment document filed with the District Court of Maryland https://web.archive.org/web/20040714210843/http://www.justice.gov/dag/cftf/chargingdocs/allfirst.pdf

Baltimore Sun story of Rusnak

Rusnak's Speech at the CBMC

NPR Morning Edition Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rusnak, John Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Allied Irish Banks American financial businesspeople American bankers Rogue traders American people convicted of fraud American businesspeople convicted of crimes

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