A dual citizen of the United States and the Philippines has been charged with stealing more than $6.6 million from his employer, a global financial services company based in Massachusetts.
Ricardo Fontanilla was arrested on May 3 and is facing charges of wire fraud. Fontanilla is set to appear in federal court in Boston after his initial hearing in Arlington, Virginia. The wire fraud charge carries a potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison, with additional consequences including supervised release, fines and restitution.
According to court filings, Fontanilla worked at the global financial services company from 2013 until December 2025 in a role that allowed him access to the company’s financial systems.
As a security administration services specialist, Fontanilla’s job involved overseeing mortgage payments related to residential mortgage-backed securities. From as early as 2016, Fontanilla allegedly changed company records to indicate that the company was receiving excess payments from mortgage servicing companies. He then fraudulently transferred these excess payments to a mortgage servicer, known as “Company A,” and falsely claimed these were refunds. Fontanilla ordered Company A to return the supposed excess funds to a personal bank account he controlled at Wells Fargo.
Investigatory records show that Fontanilla received more than $6.6 million in wire transfers from Company A between 2016 and 2025. He allegedly made more than $3.2 million in personal credit card payments, paid off nearly $778,000 in loans, withdrew more than $200,000 in cash, spent more than $70,000 at Cartier stores globally, and purchased a vehicle for around $77,000. These expenditures greatly exceeded his annual salary of approximately $83,000 from the company.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Kosto, chief of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Frauds Unit.