Federal prosecutors say a vice president of Tompkins Community bank defrauded two people he knew, convincing them to put tens-of-thousands of dollars into questionable investments.
Timothy Siverd, 34, of Rochester, was arrested on charges of wire fraud and money laundering.
Prosecutors say he convinced Victim 1 to invest $25,000 in a group of four residential properties in Rochester, then convinced the victim to invest that money and an additional $10,000 into a savings account at his bank when the transaction fell through. Various other real estate transactions followed, with the victim “investing” in various other properties. A second victim that Siverd knew was also roped in, again investing tens-of-thousands of dollars.
None of the properties that Siverd represented to his clients were actually for sale.
Siverd used the second victim’s money to pay back the first victim when he began to suspect the transactions were fraudulent. Siverd used the rest of the money to pay for personal expenses and for gambling.
Homeland Security investigators caught him.