| A Rockland couple pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to engaging in a scheme to embezzle more than $2.7 million from Bank of America using fraudulent donations to nonprofit organizations.
Palestine Ace, also known as Pam Ace, a former senior vice president of Bank of America’s Global Wealth & Investment Management Division, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, five counts of wire fraud and 12 counts of bank fraud. Her husband, Jonathan R. Ace, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, three counts of wire fraud and one count of engaging in an unlawful monetary transaction. Sentencing is scheduled for Palestine Ace on May 16 and May 17 for Jonathan Ace.
The couple engaged in an embezzlement and kickback scheme to defraud BofA of approximately $2.7 million using fraudulent donations to nonprofit organizations. As part of the scheme, Palestine Ace used her position as a senior vice president at BofA to misappropriate funds from a marketing budget and transfer the money to nonprofit organizations. Specifically, she authorized 75 transactions, each under $50,000, to nonprofit organizations in Boston and Atlanta. The couple then either directly or indirectly informed the nonprofit organizations that a substantial portion of the donated funds had to be returned in order to ensure that BofA would continue to fund the organization. The nonprofit organizations either wrote a check to Jonathan Ace or a co-conspirator, or they returned funds to a BofA account to which the couple had access. On various occasions, Jonathan Ace pressured the recipients of the donated funds to return a higher percentage of the funds to him, by using intimidation and threats of public humiliation.
Palestine and Jonathan Ace used a portion of the funds they embezzled from BofA to support their lifestyle and pay for personal expenses, including lavish birthday parties and the purchase of a $17,000 Kawasaki motorcycle.
The charges of wire fraud and bank fraud each provide for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of unlawful monetary transaction provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, two years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.
