Everett Stern | |
|---|---|
| File:Stern Original.jpg | |
| Republican candidate for United States Senate | |
| Election date Primary: April 26, 2016 General Election: November 8, 2016 | |
| Opponent | Pat Toomey (R) |
| Incumbent | Pat Toomey |
| Personal details | |
| Born | New York City, New York United States |
| Political party | Republican |
| Residence(s) | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Alma mater | Stetson University (MBA) |
| Occupation | Intelligence Director |
| Website | everettstern |
Everett A. Stern is the Intelligence Director and Founder of Tactical Rabbit, Inc (private intelligence agency).[1][2] and a former candidate for United States Senate. Everett Stern is also the Hedge Fund Manager of Rabbit Alpha, LLC[3][4] and Rabbit Capital Management. Stern is best known for his actions as the whistleblower in the HSBC money laundering scandal where he uncovered billions of dollars in illegal money laundering transactions which led to an SEC investigation and a $1.92 billion fine against HSBC in 2012.[5]
Everett Alexander Stern was born on August 29, 1984 in New York City.[6] He graduated from Wellington High School in Wellington, FL in 2002. He graduated with a Bachelor of the Arts (BA) degree from Florida Atlantic University in 2008.[7] Stern began seeking a position with the Central Intelligence Agency during his time at Florida Atlantic University where he became a candidate for the National Clandestine Service (NCS).[5][8] Stern continued pursuing his education, earning a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) degree from Stetson University in central Florida in May 2010.[9] Shortly after graduating from Stetson University, Everett received a rejection letter from the National Clandestine Service within the CIA and began exploring career opportunities.[8][10][5]
In October 2010 Stern took a position as an anti-money laundering (AML) compliance officer for HSBC in their New Castle, Delaware office where he monitored the bank's Middle Eastern transactions.[10][5] Stern identified many suspicious transactions tied to terrorist groups in the Middle East, such as Hamas and Hezbollah. Specifically, he uncovered a multinational money-laundering network that generated millions of dollars for Hezbollah through the Lebanese brothers Ali, Husayn, and Kassim Tajideen through their Gambia-based company, Tajco Ltd.[11] Stern sent numerous alerts and was repeatedly ignored by his HSBC supervisor.[8] After several such episodes, Stern made contact with the FBI and CIA, which began to investigate HSBC. Self-directed, Stern continued to collect and pass information to the CIA regarding HSBC's blatant abuse and manipulation of wire filters to approve illegal wire transfers. He left HSBC in October 2011.[5] By the summer of 2012, the inquiry had broadened to the bank's money laundering operations in the Middle East, Mexico, Iran, Sudan, and North Korea.[12]
A July 2012 congressional report found that from 2001 through 2010, HSBC had "exposed the U.S. financial system to a wide array of money laundering, drug trafficking, and terrorist financing risks due to poor anti-money laundering controls."[13]
In December 2012, HSBC came to a settlement with U.S. authorities which required it to pay a record $1.92 billion fine, as well as improve its anti-money laundering controls, in exchange for a deferment of criminal prosecution for five years.[14][15]
In February 2013, Everett Stern was first featured as the HSBC whistleblower in Rolling Stone magazine in the article Gangster Bankers: Too Big to Jail.[16]
In February 2018, Stern was featured as the HSBC whistleblower in the Netflix series Dirty Money.[10]
Stern reached a resignation agreement from his position with HSBC in October 2011. After being "blacklisted" from the financial community Stern began working at a P.F. Chang's restaurant as a server.[17] Stern self-funded and launched the private intelligence agency Tactical Rabbit in the following year. In March 2013, Stern and the law firm Berger & Montague submitted evidence collected by Stern to the SEC that HSBC had continued to violate anti-money laundering regulations through October 2011, when Stern's employment with HSBC ended.[17] In August 2013, Stern joined with an Occupy Wall Street working group called Alternative Banking to further publicize his allegations against HSBC.[18][19] At a protest held on August 29, 2013 in New York City, Stern publicly alleged that HSBC had committed anti-laundering violations through the end of his employment in 2011, and asked that the government re-open the case against HSBC.[17][20][21]
In December 2013, HSBC reached a settlement with the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control regarding funds that had been transferred to financiers of the terrorist organization Hezbollah between December 2010 and April 2011. HSBC was required to pay $32,400. The Treasury department stated that this settlement was "unrelated to the bank's December 2012 agreement."[22] Stern has continued to speak publicly through the media about his HSBC allegations, especially as they relate to the funding of terrorist groups and activities[8][20][23]
In June 2014, Stern and his company investigated the potential merger between Sprint and T-Mobile. He suspected the proposed merger would make the market "more cooperative than competitive" and allow prices to be more easily regulated. Because of the potential for antitrust law violations, Tactical Rabbit accurately predicted the merger would not succeed.[24]
In August 2014, Stern conducted an investigation of Students for Justice in Palestine, a student organization found in colleges across America. He reported his findings to federal law enforcement after his company's investigation indicated possible Hamas financing.[25]
In September 2014, his company launched an investigation into JPMorgan Chase & Co. Stern and his company reported to regulators that JPMorgan was violating Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and Bank Secrecy Act regulations.[26]
In March 2015, Tactical Rabbit launched an investigation into LifeLock, Inc. Stern claimed that "LifeLock has not simply made false advertising claims, but has criminally ascertained critical and sensitive information of its customers under false pretenses."[27]
In May 2015, Stern conducted an investigation into the closing of Sweet Briar College. Stern held a press conference on May 9, 2015 at the college and alleged that the companies' intelligence operation revealed fraud.[28] Stern pleaded for the American public and the FBI to get involved. Stern noted that "Saving Sweet Briar is not a Virginia problem, but it is a national problem requiring all Americans to act." In May 2015 Stern issued a public letter to FBI Director, James Comey, asking for an FBI investigation into his company's findings on the closing of the college.[29][30][31]
In February 2018, Everett Stern sent a notice to Sheriff Ric Bradshaw[32] regarding Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office's Office deputy Jason Van Dusen for allegedly posting racist and offensive content on his social media accounts dating back to 2013 recommending that Van Dusen be fired.[33] Subsequently, the Sheriff's Department completed their investigation and Van Dusen was fired, according to Teri Barbera, sheriff's spokeswoman.[34]
In 2018, Stern received a tip that the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services (MDHHS) had paid out hundreds of thousands of dollars in incorrect Medicaid reimbursements over a six-year period because a claims payment system had been disabled. After obtaining internal MDHHS emails through the Freedom of Information Act, Stern discovered that a health agency employee had intentionally turned off the computer program designed to monitor home health care services. The emails show that the agency changed the computer program to "ease the burden on claims processing staff."[35]
In the fall of 2013, Stern worked with Maxine Waters, D-CA, ranking Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, on the "Holding Individuals Accountable and Deterring Money Laundering Act," which sought to give the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network the authority to litigate on its own, and to stiffen penalties and prison sentences for bank executives involved in money laundering.[36][37][38]
In April 2015, Stern announced his candidacy for United States Senate as a Republican candidate from Pennsylvania, challenging incumbent Pat Toomey for the Republican primary in the 2016 election.[39]