Evolve Bank CEO Arrested on Charges of Child Exploitation
Robert “Bob” Hartheimer, the recently appointed CEO of Evolve Bank and Trust, has been taken into custody on allegations of sexual exploitation of a minor and dissemination of obscene material. According to records from Shelby County, Hartheimer was escorted from the bank’s East Memphis, Tennessee headquarters on Thursday morning by FBI agents. A federal court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday. The arrest was initially reported by fintech consultant Jason Mikula in a LinkedIn post.
Immediate Response from Evolve Bank
A spokesman for Evolve Bank confirmed their awareness of the situation and assured that the board of directors is treating the matter with the utmost gravity. Effective immediately, Hartheimer’s employment with the bank has been terminated. The U.S. Attorney’s office has communicated to the bank that the charges against Hartheimer are personal and do not pertain to the bank or its operations. Nevertheless, the bank has pledged its full cooperation in the ongoing investigation.
Interim Leadership and Evolve Bank’s Future
In the wake of Hartheimer’s arrest, Evolve’s President and Chief Financial Officer Mark Mosteller and Executive Vice President and General Counsel Joelle Weltzin will reassume control of the bank’s operations and strategic direction, as they had done prior to Hartheimer’s appointment in August. The spokesman expressed confidence in the leadership, the stability of operations, and the continued trust of its customers and investors.
Hartheimer’s Background
Hartheimer has a lengthy career history in legal and regulatory compliance roles. From 1991 to 1995, he served as director of the division of resolutions at the FDIC. He later worked at regulatory consulting firms Klaros Group and Promontory. He started consulting with Evolve’s board and teams in late 2024 to help them overcome a June 2024 consent order imposed by the Federal Reserve and the Arkansas State Bank Department. He was appointed CEO in August.
Evolve’s Regulatory Challenges
The consent order issued to Evolve primarily centered on risk management deficiencies in the bank’s open banking division and shortcomings in its adherence to the anti-money laundering Bank Secrecy Act. Similar issues have been faced by other banking-as-a-service banks over the past five years. Hartheimer maintained that Evolve was undergoing changes to improve its technology and expected to emerge as a technological leader for fintech customers by 2026.
The Synapse Situation
Evolve served as the primary bank partner for Synapse, a banking-as-a-service intermediary responsible for maintaining ledgers for Evolve and its fintech clients. In 2024, Synapse filed for bankruptcy, revealing a significant discrepancy between their ledgers and Evolve’s, with an estimated $65 million to $95 million of end user funds missing. Hartheimer had referred to the situation as a wake-up call for the industry, leading to more rigorous compliance and risk changes for all banking-as-a-service banks.
Despite the ongoing challenges, Evolve continues to work on improving data management and transaction monitoring. Hartheimer’s arrest marks a significant setback for the bank, but with strong leadership and stringent regulatory compliance measures, it aims to move forward with the same commitment to its customers and investors.
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