Evolve Bank & Trust CEO Bob Hartheimer, 68, was arrested Thursday on two child pornography related charges, according to Shelby County, Tennessee’s inmate database.
Hartheimer faces one count of sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of distribution of obscene material.
An Evolve spokesperson said Friday that he has now been terminated from his position.
“We are in close contact with the U.S. Attorney’s office and have been assured that this is a personal matter and does not relate to the Bank or its operations in any way,” the spokesperson said. “That said, we have offered our full cooperation as they investigate.”
Blake Ballin, Hartheimer’s attorney, told Banking Dive via text Thursday evening that he has no comment, as the case is under seal. He said he did not know when the case would be unsealed.
A source close to the bank told Banking Dive early Thursday that Hartheimer had been taken into Federal Bureau of Investigation custody at his office regarding a personal matter. The CEO’s arrest has “nothing to do with the bank. No warrants were executed against bank or bank property,” the source said.
Hartheimer’s arrest was originally reported by Fintech Business Weekly reporter Jason Mikula on social media site X.
Hartheimer took the reins of the West Memphis, Arkansas-based bank in August following former CEO Scott Stafford’s retirement earlier this year.
At the time, Hartheimer said that he aimed to “restore trust” in the bank, which since last spring has been caught up in a missing-funds saga tied to the collapse of middleware fintech Synapse.
Hartheimer was originally scheduled to appear in federal court in the Western District of Tennessee in Memphis on Thursday, but his appearance was rescheduled for Oct. 28.
Moving forward, Evolve President and CFO Mark Mosteller and EVP and General Counsel Joelle Weltzin will oversee the the bank’s strategic direction and operations, as they did prior to Hartheimer’s August hiring, the spokesperson said.
“Our team remains focused on serving customers, supporting employees and delivering on our business objectives,” the spokesperson said. “We remain confident in the strength of our leadership, the stability of our operations, and the continued trust of our customers and investors.”
