EagleBank to Pay Over $9.7 Million After Long‑Running Bank Secrecy Act Failures

The U.S. Department of Justice has announced that EagleBank will pay more than $9.7 million to resolve a Bank Secrecy Act investigation after admitting it willfully failed to maintain an AML/CFT program for over a decade.

According to the DOJ, EagleBank knowingly allowed two customers - a father and son - to operate a long‑running check‑kiting scheme between 2010 and 2021. Senior executives repeatedly overrode compliance staff who attempted to close the accounts, enabling the fraud to continue and causing $6.3 million in losses to another financial institution.

Under a non‑prosecution agreement, EagleBank will pay a $9,057,821.62 fine and $736,515 in forfeiture, representing overdraft‑fee proceeds from the fraudulent accounts. The bank has also agreed to strengthen its AML/CFT controls, cooperate with ongoing investigations, and report future violations.

The DOJ emphasised that EagleBank’s conduct reflected a systemic failure of basic financial crime gatekeeping, underscoring regulators’ expectation that banks act as front‑line defenders against fraud and illicit finance.