William Shane Garrow, a former banking executive from Tulsa, Oklahoma, has entered a guilty plea to charges of bank fraud and filing a false federal income tax return. The 49-year-old admitted in court to embezzling over $4.2 million from client accounts during his tenure at the Bank of Oklahoma.
Garrow began working for the Bank of Oklahoma in August 2007 and eventually rose to the position of Senior Vice President. In this role, he provided financial advisory services to affluent clients until his termination in March 2024. His fraudulent activities spanned from September 2012 through April 2024.
During this period, Garrow confessed to illicitly transferring funds or issuing cashier checks without client consent and depositing them into accounts under his control at different financial institutions. He failed to disclose these additional earnings to the IRS, thereby falsifying his taxable income. Garrow acknowledged that he used the embezzled funds for personal expenses.
Despite pleading guilty, Garrow is allowed to remain free on bond while awaiting sentencing by a federal district court judge. The judge will take into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines along with other statutory considerations when determining Garrow's sentence.
The investigation was conducted by several agencies including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG), IRS Criminal Investigations, and the U.S. Secret Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney David D. Whipple is handling the prosecution.