Former Bank Employee Gets 30 Months For Stealing $125K From Customer With Dementia

EAST PROVIDENCE, RI — A former Santander Bank employee from East Providence was sentenced to two and a half years in federal prison for stealing more than $125,000 from a 78-year-old customer with dementia, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Carlos Bras, 41, was also ordered to pay $126,000 in restitution, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a media release.

Bras pleaded guilty in May to charges of mail fraud and aggravated identity theft.

Starting in the spring of 2023, Bras accessed the account of the a customer who resided in an assisted living facility and had a court-appointed conservator in Massachusetts, according to the release.

"Bras admitted that he enabled online banking access to the victim’s account; ordered checks sent to addresses he controlled; obtained a debit card for personal use; and conducted numerous unauthorized transactions, including transfers to accounts controlled by him and his family and multiple wire transfers to a bank account in Portugal," the release said.

"Investigators also discovered a purported real estate contract in Portugal bearing the signatures of Bras and the victim," according to the release. "The victim’s conservator reported that the victim was unaware of the transaction and that the signature and listed address were not the victim’s."

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