Whistleblower Sues Brunswick Bank and Trust for Wrongful Termination

Lawsuit alleges that the local New Jersey bank abruptly fired an employee days after he reported a potential money laundering scheme to the bank's management.

East Brunswick, NJ (PRWEB) May 8, 2008 -- Whistleblower Richard Boywitt was just doing his job when he told his boss that he intended to file a report about a potential money laundering scheme involving a bank customer and two tellers. Instead of thanking Mr. Boywitt for exposing the suspicious activity, the Bank's President, Roman T. Gumina, III, allegedly cursed him out and fired him.

So says the Complaint filed on May 1, 2008 in the case of Boywitt v. Brunswick Bancorp d/b/a Brunswick Bank and Trust Company, Docket No. MID-L-3503-08. According to the Complaint, Mr. Boywitt served as the Bank Secrecy Act Compliance Officer for the local New Jersey bank, where his job duties included monitoring customer transactions and filing reports of suspicious banking activity with FinCen, a division of the U.S. Department of Treasury. In late March or early April 2007, Mr. Boywitt learned that a bank customer had repeatedly exchanged thousands of dollars in old $5 bills for new cash. When Mr. Boywitt questioned the Bank's two head tellers about the transactions, they stonewalled him, refused to follow his instruction to monitor the customer further, and allegedly lied to him regarding a transaction where $8,000 of the old cash was exchanged for new.

This is a wrongful and, in my view, unlawful termination.

The Complaint further alleges that Mr. Boywitt, who was obligated by law to report this suspicious activity, notified his boss, Mr. Gumina, of his intent to file a report with FinCen. Two days later, Mr. Gumina allegedly cursed out Mr. Boywitt and abruptly fired him, saying "you would file (a suspicious activity report) against (Bank) employees? Are you f-----g out of your mind? You're fired!"

"Here is an employee who was just trying to do his job, and was fired because of it," said Mr. Boywitt's attorney, Steven Siegler, Esq., of East Brunswick, NJ. "This is a wrongful and, in my view, unlawful termination."

About The Law Office of Steven Siegler, Esq.:
The Law Office of Steven Siegler, Esq. represents New Jersey's professional and executive workforce in all areas of employment law, including discrimination on the basis of age, gender, pregnancy, race, religion, or disability, sexual harassment, whistleblower retaliation, severance package negotiations, breach of contract, non-compete agreements, wage and hour claims, and civil rights violations. For more information visit www.njemploymentattorney.com or www.njemploymentlawyerblog.com.

Contact:
Steven Siegler
The Law Office of Steven Siegler, Esq.
(732) 214-2648
www.njemploymentattorney.com

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