Update (10/24/25): Evolve Bank & Trust announced Friday afternoon that CEO Bob Hartheimer has been fired after federal authorities arrested him on charges related to child pornography.
“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,” a company spokesman said in a statement. “That said, we have offered our full cooperation as they investigate.”
President and CFO Mark Mosteller and Executive Vice President and General Counsel Joelle Weltzin will oversee the bank’s operations, assuming duties they held before Hartheimer was hired in August.
The company “remains focused on serving customers, supporting employees and delivering on our business objectives,” the bank spokesman said. “We remain confident in the strength of our leadership, the stability of our operations, and the continued trust of our customers and investors.”
Update (10/24/25): Jail records show that Bob Hartheimer, CEO of Evolve Bank & Trust of West Memphis, faces federal charges related to child pornography.
Hartheimer was arrested Thursday at the bank’s corporate headquarters in Memphis. He was booked in the Shelby County jail on two charges: obscene material-distribution and sexual exploitation of minor-material-photograph.
Hartheimer, who took over as CEO of the bank in August, is represented by Memphis criminal defense attorney Blake Ballin. Reached by phone Friday morning, Ballin said he could not comment on the case because the government had asked to place it under seal.
Ballin said he expects the case will be unsealed “soon,” and when asked about making future comments, Ballin said, “We’ll see what happens next week.”
Jason Mikula, who runs Fintech Business Weekly, reported Friday that Hartheimer’s initial court appearance will take place at 2 p.m. Tuesday.
The FBI Nashville Field Office has referred questions on the case to the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee. A spokesperson said Friday that information would be made available on the federal court case database but provided no timeline on when the information will be posted.
Evolve is chartered in West Memphis but its headquarters is in Memphis. The bank has five branches in Arkansas.
Evolve has about $1.46 billion in assets and does most of its business through banking-as-a-service in which it provides banking services to fintechs like finance-related smartphone apps.
Original story (10/23/25): Bob Hartheimer, the new CEO of Evolve Bank & Trust of West Memphis, was arrested Thursday by federal authorities at the bank’s Memphis headquarters, a spokesman for the bank said.
Hartheimer took over as the bank’s chief executive in August following a year of turmoil at the bank which included a data breach and federal regulatory enforcement actions related to Evolve’s partnerships with fintech companies.
However, multiple sources told Arkansas Business on Thursday that Hartheimer’s arrest was “personal” and unrelated to his work at Evolve. Hartheimer, though, has been placed on administrative leave, the bank said.
The FBI Nashville Field Office, which covers the state of Tennessee, said Thursday that it executed an arrest warrant and a search warrant at 6000 Poplar Ave. in Memphis, the address of Evolve’s headquarters.
Evolve is chartered in West Memphis and has five branches in Arkansas.
The FBI referred further questions to the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee in Memphis, which did not respond to a request for more information.
Hartheimer was set for a court appearance today, according to online records, but that hearing was rescheduled for Tuesday, according to sources and media reports.
No additional information about Hartheimer’s arrest was available in federal court records.
More on Evolve Bank & Trust:
► Evolve Bank Hires Former Bank Watchdog Bob Hartheimer as CEO After Tumultuous Year
► Regulatory Issues & Cybersecurity Challenge Evolve Bank’s Rapid Growth
► Evolve Bank & Trust Expands to Northwest Arkansas
► Hackers Post Evolve Customers’ Data on the Dark Web
► Fed Takes Action Against Evolve Bank Over Shortcomings in Risk Management, Consumer Compliance
Jason Mikula, who runs Fintech Business Weekly, first reported Hartheimer’s arrest Thursday.
Hartheimer is a former regulator with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. who helped form the agency’s Division of Resolutions, which plans and executes the closure and sale of failed banks. Hartheimer has also worked with fintech companies and co-founded Jasper, a credit card originator for customers with little or no credit history. The company issued credit cards through two partner banks providing banking-as-a-service. Jasper credit cards were discontinued in 2022.
Hartheimer has also worked as a bank and fintech regulatory consultant, including work with Evolve before being hired as CEO.
His arrest follows a tumultuous 2024 at Evolve. The bank’s primary business is banking-as-a-service, in which it provides banking services to fintech companies and smartphone apps. In April, Synapse Financial Technologies Inc., a fintech customer of Evolve, filed for bankruptcy, and the bank has been involved in litigation over responsibility for the consumers’ accounts.
A few months after Synapse filed for bankruptcy last year, the Federal Reserve sanctioned Evolve over the bank’s anti-money laundering, risk management and consumer compliance programs. The bank also experienced a data breach last year in which a “known cybercriminal organization” stole the bank’s customers’ data and personal information and posted it on the dark web.
Evolve’s assets and net income rose in recent years as its banking-as-a-service business grew. The bank has assets of $1.46 billion but reported a net income loss of $8.6 million through six months this year.
A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Hartheimer was arrested Monday,
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