IberiaBank has already retrofitted many of the Teche Federal Bank locations it acquired in a buyout earlier this year, but some residuals from the estimated $161 million deal are still playing out, namely a federal lawsuit alleging the theft of sensitive information by two former Teche executives.
IberiaBank has already retrofitted many of the Teche Federal Bank locations it acquired in a buyout earlier this year, but some residuals from the estimated $161 million deal are still playing out, namely a federal lawsuit alleging the theft of sensitive information by two former Teche executives.
In the lawsuit, IberiaBank names two former Teche Federal vice presidents, Darryl Broussard and Brayton Peltier, and accuses them of ransacking Teche Federal's computer files - stealing everything from sensitive business information to thousands of customer files - and then deleting the information from the system.
The alleged theft, according to the suit, occurred between April and May, right before the deal between IberiaBank and Teche was finalized on May 31.
While at Teche, Broussard was a senior vice president and the chief lending office, while Peltier was a vice president and credit analyst. IberiaBank alleges that Peltier was responsible for the theft of 8,000 files from the Teche computer, while Broussard is credited with taking 4,000 files.
The stolen information, alleges IberiaBank, was then given to JD Bank, where Peltier has since relocated, helping the Jennings-based bank open its first Lafayette location, which is comprised primarily of former Teche employees who left as a result of the merger.
The suit also alleges complicity on the part of JD Bank's CEO Boyd Boudreaux, alleging that he acted in collusion with Peltier and Broussard in the stealing of Teche files.
"Among other things, Broussard provided JD Bank's CEO [Boyd] Boudreaux with proprietary information regarding loan portfolios handled by Broussard and at least three of the Teche lending officers that Broussard directly supervised at Teche," reads the suit.
Boudreaux denies the allegations, and in an interview with The Advocate, he says JD Bank would never accept information illegally taken from another bank: "JD Bank has never received proprietary data and would not accept it if it was offered."
So far, says Boudreaux, JD Bank is not a defendant, even though it's mentioned in the suit. Yet, he's quick to add: "If and when it becomes necessary, we will defend ourselves vigorously."
Both Peltier and Broussard have since lawyered up, with Broussard filing a Sept. 15 countersuit against IberiaBank, claiming the real issue at play is a $250,000 bonus he was contractually promised by IberiaBank but has yet to receive.
The bonus, or "success bonus," as Broussard calls it in his suit, was part of an employment agreement he signed with IberiaBank in which he was promised the money in exchange for helping make the merger with Teche a success.
"Instead, on July 3, 2014, only three days prior to its deadline to pay the Success Bonus, IberiaBank formally terminated [Broussard] by cold, written correspondence," claims Broussard's countersuit.
For more on the merger, click here, and go here for more about how JD Bank segued into the Lafayette market by joining forces with a group of former Teche employees.