| 
A Rockland couple has been arrested and charged with engaging in a scheme to embezzle more than $2.7 million from Bank of America using fraudulent donations to nonprofit organizations. A third person, who was previously charged in a criminal complaint, was also charged in the indictment unsealed today.
Palestine Ace, a former senior vice president of Bank of America’s global wealth & investment management division; her husband, Jonathan R. Ace; and Brianna Alexis Forde, of Boston, were each indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud. Additonally, Palestine Ace was also indicted on 12 counts of bank fraud and four counts of wire fraud; Jonathan Ace was also charged with two counts of wire fraud and one engaging in an unlawful monetary transaction; and Forde was also indicted on two counts of wire fraud.
According to the indictment, Palestine Ace used her position as a senior vice president at Bank of America to misappropriate funds from a marketing budget and transfer the money to nonprofit organizations. She allegedly authorized 75 transactions, each under $50,000, to nonprofit organizations in Boston and Atlanta. The defendants then informed the nonprofits that a substantial portion of the donated funds must be returned in order to ensure that Bank of America would continue to fund the organization. The nonprofit organizations either wrote a check to Jonathan Ace or Forde, or they returned funds to a Bank of America account, to which the defendants 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.
The indictment also alleges that Palestine and Jonathan Ace used a portion of the funds they embezzled from Bank of America 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 up to 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 up to 10 years in prison, two years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.
