Evolve Bank CEO fired after propositioning FBI agent who pretended to be a teen boy

Bob Hartheimer, CEO of Tennessee's Evolve Bank & Trust, was fired after U.S. law enforcement officials caught him propositioning a law enforcement officer posing as a 15-year-old boy on gay dating app Grindr.

On Oct. 19, an employee of the Federal Bureau of Investigation logged onto Grindr while pretending to be a teen boy, and a user called "Tomm" wrote a message to that person saying, "Hey any chance u would hu with an older and chill guy," according to an affidavit from a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation that was unsealed on Tuesday.

The two discussed getting together in person later in the week, according to the affidavit. On Snapchat, they talked about the sex acts they might perform. "Tomm" asked for a photo of the "boy" without shorts on, and he also sent the undercover agent a picture of himself naked. The FBI was able to obtain an IP address for "Tomm" from Snapchat, as well as an address from Comcast, the affidavit showed.

Hartheimer was arrested in Memphis on Oct. 23 for attempted production of child pornography and transfer of obscene material to a minor, according to a warrant.

An Evolve spokesperson and Blake Ballin, a lawyer representing Hartheimer, told CNBC on Saturday that Evolve has fired the CEO.

"Bob's family is aware of the charges," Ballin wrote in an email. "His family loves and supports him and requests privacy during this difficult period in their lives. We have no further comment at this time."

The Wall Street Journal reported on Hartheimer's firing from Evolve Bank on Friday.

Evolve said its finance chief, Mark Mosteller, and its general counsel, Joelle Weltzin, will be in charge of the bank's operations, as they were before the bank hired Hartheimer in August.

"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 wrote in an email.

Last year, Evolve was caught up in the bankruptcy of financial technology startup Synapse, which cut off access to a system for handling transactions and account details. Fintech apps such as Yotta worked with Evolve and other banks, with Synapse acting as a middleman.

Synapse's method of keeping app users' money in various banks, including Evolve, created accounting problems, and up to $96 million in deposits went missing. Thousands of Americans lost money, CNBC reported.

In 2024, Evolve also suffered a cyberattack, during which hackers obtained customer information and demanded a ransom. The bank said it did not pay any ransom and the data was eventually posted online.

"This is a structural change, demonstrating our continued commitment to doing the hard work to earn back the trust of our customers, employees, regulators, and investors," Evolve said in an August statement announcing the selection of Hartheimer to replace CEO Scott Stafford, who retired after joining in 2004.

The bank touted Hartheimer's experience as director of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's Division of Resolutions, as well as his years as a regulatory consultant for fintech companies.

"Over the past four decades, I've led, turned around, and advised institutions across the financial landscape," Hartheimer wrote on his LinkedIn profile.

The 100-year-old bank reported net losses for each of the first three quarters of 2025 after being profitable since 2003, according to data on file with the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council.

— CNBC's Dan Mangan and Hugh Son contributed reporting.

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