Federal Reserve Bars Two Former Bank Employees Over Misappropriation of Customer Funds

The Federal Reserve Board has barred two former bank employees from participating in the banking industry following findings involving the misappropriation of customer funds.

The enforcement actions, announced August 20, involve Stephanie R. Kilbert, a former employee of Regions Bank in Birmingham, Alabama, and Crystal A. Wykle, a former employee of United Community Bank in Greenville, South Carolina. The Federal Reserve described both actions as consent prohibitions and identified misappropriation of customer funds as the misconduct involved.

The agency’s brief public announcement did not disclose how much money was involved, how many customers may have been affected, or the specific circumstances surrounding either case. That distinction is important for customers of the two banks: the announcement concerns the actions of the former employees and does not allege broader wrongdoing by either financial institution.

What the Federal Reserve Announced

According to the Federal Reserve’s August 20 enforcement announcement, Kilbert and Wykle were each subject to a consent prohibition. Kilbert formerly worked for Regions Bank, while Wykle formerly worked for United Community Bank.

A prohibition is a serious regulatory action because it can prevent an individual from participating in the affairs of federally regulated financial institutions. The orders are designed to keep people subject to such actions from simply moving from one financial institution to another and continuing to work in positions covered by federal banking law.

The Federal Reserve did not provide additional details about the customer funds involved in these two cases in its public press release. It also did not state in that announcement whether affected customers suffered permanent losses or whether the money was ultimately recovered or reimbursed.

Regions Bank Has Appeared in Other Recent Fed Enforcement Actions

The Kilbert action is not the only recent Federal Reserve prohibition involving a former Regions Bank employee. On August 13, the Board announced a consent prohibition against former Regions employee Elazia Jones involving check fraud.

On July 30, the Federal Reserve announced another prohibition against former Regions employee Simon Alberto Gonzalez involving misappropriation of customer funds. Earlier in 2026, separate actions involving former Regions employees Brenda Fuson, Nicole M. Ramsey and Jason Lovell also cited misappropriation of customer funds.

Those are separate enforcement matters involving different former employees. The Federal Reserve’s announcements do not establish that the cases are connected, so readers should not assume a common scheme based solely on the fact that the same bank appears in multiple actions.

What Bank Customers Should Do If Money Goes Missing

The enforcement announcement is also a useful reminder for consumers to pay attention to activity in checking, savings and other financial accounts. Unauthorized withdrawals, transfers or other transactions can be easier to address when they’re identified quickly.

Customers should routinely review account statements and transaction alerts rather than assuming that an unfamiliar charge is harmless. If money appears to be missing or an unauthorized transaction appears, contact the financial institution promptly, document the disputed transaction and ask what steps are required to investigate it.

Consumers should also be cautious about unexpected calls, texts or emails claiming that suspicious activity has occurred. Instead of using a phone number or link supplied in an unsolicited message, contact the bank using information from its official website, bank statement or the back of a debit or credit card.

Federal Regulators Can Remove Individuals From the Banking Industry

The August 20 announcement demonstrates one of the enforcement tools available to federal banking regulators when misconduct involves employees or other institution-affiliated parties.

The Federal Reserve maintains records of enforcement actions, and its 2026 releases show multiple prohibition orders involving former employees of different financial institutions. For consumers, these actions offer some visibility into how regulators respond after misconduct is identified, although individual press releases may provide relatively few details about what occurred.

Customers concerned about a specific account should contact their financial institution rather than assuming they were affected simply because their bank appears in an enforcement announcement. The Federal Reserve’s August 20 release did not identify individual customers, account numbers, amounts misappropriated or other information suggesting that customers generally need to take action.

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Amanda Blankenship

Amanda Blankenship is Chief Editor at District Media, Inc., leading content strategy, quality assurance, and editorial operations across high-traffic personal finance sites like SavingAdvice.com and CleverDude.com. A Wingate University graduate with a BA in Communications (Journalism focus), she brings over a decade of experience in digital publishing, writing, and team leadership in the personal finance space.