US Department of Justice · Monday, September 21, 2026
AI-WRITTEN SUMMARY
Former Bank CEO Sentenced to Over 9 Years in Prison for Multimillion-Dollar Wire Fraud Conspiracy and Venezuela Sanctions Evasion Scheme
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Key facts
Source:US Department of Justice (U.S. Government work, public domain)
Tomás Niembro Concha, the former CEO of the Puerto Rican institution Nodus International Bank, has been sentenced to 112 months in prison and three years of supervised release. The Spanish and Venezuelan national pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). As part of his sentence, Niembro was ordered to forfeit more than $16.9 million.
Court documents reveal that Niembro led a scheme to siphon at least $24.9 million from Nodus Bank for his personal gain. Alongside Board Chairman Juan Ramirez, Niembro used sham investments and loans through a Miami-based lender to divert $11 million. Additionally, the pair used Nodus Finance, a company they jointly owned, to fraudulently induce the bank to purchase 47 promissory notes totaling roughly $25.3 million. These fraudulent activities contributed to the eventual liquidation of Nodus Bank in 202le3.
The sentencing also addresses a separate conspiracy to bypass U.S. sanctions against Venezuela. Between 2021 and 2023, Niembro worked to facilitate prohibited transactions with an individual identified as a Specially Designated National (SDN) by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The SDN had been sanctioned for supporting the Venezuelan state oil company, PDVSA. Specifically, Niembro and the SDN used a front company to secretly repurchase a Southampton, New York, property for $4 million, bypassing required OFAC licenses.
The investigation was a collaborative effort involving the IRS Criminal Investigation, the Treasury Executive Office for Asset Forfeiture, and the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions of Puerto Rico (OCIF). The prosecution was conducted by the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida as part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative.
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