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 the gay dating app Grindr.
On October 19, an employee of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) logged onto Grindr while pretending to be a teenage boy. According to an affidavit from an FBI special agent that was unsealed on Tuesday, a user called “Tomm” sent a message saying, “Hey any chance u would hu with an older and chill guy.” The two then discussed meeting up in person later that week.
Their conversation continued on Snapchat, where they talked about the sexual acts they might perform. “Tomm” requested a photo of the “boy” without shorts on and also sent the undercover agent a naked picture of himself.
The FBI was able to obtain an IP address for “Tomm” from Snapchat, as well as an address associated with Comcast, according to the affidavit. Hartheimer was arrested in Memphis on October 23 for attempted production of child pornography and transfer of obscene material to a minor, based on a warrant.
Blake Ballin, a lawyer representing Hartheimer, told CNBC that Evolve Bank & Trust 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 on Friday. Evolve Bank did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
### Background on Evolve Bank & Trust
Last year, Evolve was involved in the bankruptcy of the financial technology startup Synapse, which cut off access to a system used 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, caused accounting problems, leading to up to $96 million in missing deposits. Thousands of Americans reportedly lost money during this incident, CNBC reported.
In 2024, Evolve also suffered a cyberattack during which hackers obtained customer information and demanded a ransom. The bank stated it did not pay the ransom, but the data was eventually posted online.
### Leadership Changes and Financial Performance
Founded in 1925, Evolve named Hartheimer as CEO in August 2025, replacing Scott Stafford, who retired after joining the bank in 2004. At the time, the bank described the leadership change as “a structural change, demonstrating our continued commitment to doing the hard work to earn back the trust of our customers, employees, regulators, and investors.”
When hired, Hartheimer was praised for his experience as director of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) Division of Resolutions, as well as his years as a regulatory consultant for fintech companies. On his LinkedIn profile, Hartheimer wrote, “Over the past four decades, I’ve led, turned around, and advised institutions across the financial landscape.”
However, the bank reported net losses for each of the first three quarters of 2025 after being profitable since 2003, according to data filed with the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC).
### Reporting Credits
CNBC reporters Dan Mangan and Hugh Son contributed to this report.
*Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal, which owns CNBC. Versant would become the new parent company of CNBC upon Comcast’s planned spinoff of Versant.*
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/01/evolve-bank-ceo-fired-propositioning-fbi-agent-posing-as-teen-boy.html
