Nodus International Bank chairman pleads guilty in $13.6 million fraud that led to bank’s collapse
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The former chairman of Nodus International Bank has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud after federal investigators revealed a years-long scheme that led to the bank’s collapse in 2023.
Juan Francisco Ramirez, 60, of Miami, Florida, admitted to conspiring with others between 2017 and 2023 to fraudulently divert more than $13.6 million from Nodus, a Puerto Rican international banking entity. The scheme violated internal bank policies and Puerto Rican law by hiding insider transactions from fellow board members and regulators, including the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions of Puerto Rico (OCIF).
According to court documents, Ramirez arranged for Nodus to invest more than $11 million into a Miami-based lender, knowing the mon...