The employee, Juan Esteban Ramirez, 27, was fired after two customers, both 20-year-old women, filed police reports against him, a Bank of America spokesperson confirmed.
The prosecutor on the case told KPRC 2 that it was “highly unlikely” that there were only two victims.
“What I think is particularly dangerous about Mr. Ramirez’s behavior is that he is creating victims that are unsuspecting,” Assistant District Attorney Keaton Forcht said. “Mr. Ramirez, in this case, is placed in a position of trust as a bank employee, and he’s exploiting that trust.”
The first accuser told police she walked into the Bank of America at 7770 Highway 6 North in Houston on September 14, 2020, to get a new debit card, according to the court documents.
She was unsure how to look up her account information, and Ramirez asked her to use her phone to look up her account number. The woman unlocked her cellphone and handed it over to him.
Ramirez then sent 16 photos of the customer—many of which included her nude or wearing underwear only—and then deleted the texts, the prosecutor alleges in the court documents.
The woman later saw the suspicious messages, which she said were sent at the same time the banker had her phone. She said she received “sent” notifications on her Apple Watch.
Investigators were able to track the owner of the phone the messages were sent to and the bank provided a surveillance video showing Ramirez speaking with the woman, according to the court documents.
The documents say a second woman and her parents walked into the same branch that week and asked questions about her account. Ramirez allegedly stole private photos from her phone in the same way, but didn’t attempt to cover his tracks.
“In this case, he actually texts that victim from his personal cell phone and threatens her and says he has those pictures from her cell phone,” Forcht said. “She felt threatened by the way he was speaking to her and felt as though he expected something from her in exchange for the privacy of those texts.”
The bank clerk has been charged with unlawful disclosure of intimate visual material and is out on a $1,500 bond. He is due back in court on 19 April.
The incident remains under investigation and police have asked anyone with any knowledge related to the two cases against Ramirez to contact their local police department.
Newsweek has contacted Houston Police and Forcht for comment.