An investigation is underway into the apparent theft of cash from a vault that held $9.5 million for “cannabis-related customers,” a local bank has disclosed.
Parke Bank said the size of the loss is not known at this time, but its CEO and president described the sum as “significant.”
“It is difficult to protect against all bad acts of individuals intent on doing harm to the bank or our customers,” said Vito Pantilione, who also heads the bank's parent firm, Parke Bancorp Inc.
“Rest assured, however, that we are aggressively pursuing all avenues of recovery,” he said.
The bank learned of the “probable” theft from an armored car company that transports and stores cash for its customers in the cannabis trade, Parke said in a statement Wednesday.