Willie Sutton, when asked why he engaged in a 40-year career of robbing banks, purportedly replied, “Because that’s where the money is.” He later denied saying that, but the statement still follows him 45 years after his death.
Two men convicted in Oklahoma recently of stealing money from banks may be taking a dim view now of that occupation.
Brian Keith Mays, 58, of Arkansas, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for committing armed bank robbery in this state and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
A federal grand jury in Oklahoma City indicted Mays a year ago, and after a three-day trial in March 2025 a federal jury found him guilty on both counts.
Evidence presented at trial showed that on July 5, 2024, Mays brandished a pistol at FNB Community Bank in Harrah and demanded money from the tellers. They complied and Mays left the bank with $12,123.
Agents with the FBI reviewed surveillance footage from the bank and an adjoining store, where they viewed Mays flee the scene. An eyewitness was able to obtain the tag number of the getaway vehicle, and an investigation into that car led authorities to Mays.
U.S. District Judge Bernard M. Jones sentenced Mays on June 30 to 120 months in federal prison and ordered him to pay $12,123 in restitution to the bank.
William Shane Garrow, 49, of Tulsa, was punished in Tulsa’s Northern District federal court after pleading guilty to a multimillion-dollar embezzlement from Bank of Oklahoma Financial Corporation (BOK).
Garrow worked for BOK Financial Securities, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tulsa- based BOK, from 2007 through 2024. As the senior vice president of private banking, Garrow provided investment and other banking services to wealthy clients. “In that capacity, I held a position of trust within BOK to carry out my duties with minimal, if any, supervision of my daily activities and client management responsibilities,” he wrote in a court document.
Beginning in 2012 and continuing until caught in 2024, Garrow devised a scheme by lying to clients and colleagues and directing fraudulent wire transfers and cashier’s checks from at least 16 client accounts without their knowledge. The funds were transferred to entities and bank accounts that Garrow controlled.
If a client inquired about the odd transaction, Garrow continued the lie, claiming it was a banking error and attempted to cover his tracks. He would then return the funds stolen or transfer money from another unsuspecting victim's account.
While maintaining his scheme over a 12-year period, Garrow falsified his tax returns by underreporting his increase in earnings to the IRS. He admitted stealing $4.27 million from at least 16 client accounts.
In their sentencing memorandum, federal prosecutors wrote that Garrow’s actions were “far-reaching, not only causing feelings of anger, shock and dismay among directly impacted clients, but disrupted the very nature of the private banking business, raising questions by unharmed existing and prospective clients.”
After pleading guilty to bank fraud and willfully making and filing a false federal income tax return, U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell ordered Garrow to serve 71 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release.
Garrow was further ordered to pay $3,863,527.94 in restitution to the Bank of Oklahoma and $1,519,158 to the IRS – a total of $5.38 million. He also was ordered to forfeit $700,092 in previously seized currency and two real estate properties: one in Bixby and another in Glenpool.