The former president of Florida's largest privately owned state-chartered commercial bank has pleaded guilty to accepting nearly US$500,000 in bribes.

Danilo Perez, who was the president of Ocean Bank, arranged letters of credit (L/Cs) for some co-conspirators in a string of frauds.

Co-conspirators

The unidentified co-conspirators paid bribes to the former bank president in cash or gifts, including expensive watches or tickets to the Super Bowl between 2005 and 2007 according to court documents.

As well as arranging L/Cs, Perez also advanced loans and overdraft privileges to co-conspirators according to prosecutors.

Bank statement

The former bank president has also pleaded guilty to not paying tax on his ill-gotten gains.

Ocean Bank has issued a statement saying it co-operated fully with the authorities investigating the frauds and that it has not employed Perez for two years.

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