Declaration of William Martin — In re Bank of America California Unemployment Benefits Litigation (Dkt. 344-1, S.D. Cal. No. 3:21-md-02992)

Record facts

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California · No. 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB · Doc. 344-1 · 2024-10-03 · Docket on CourtListener

Full text

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
JAMES W. MCGARRY (pro hac vice) 
JMcGarry@goodwinlaw.com 
GOODWIN PROCTER LLP 
100 Northern Avenue 
Boston, MA  02210 
Tel.: +1 617 570 1000 
Fax: +1 617 523 1231 
SABRINA M. ROSE-SMITH (pro hac vice) 
SRoseSmith@goodwinlaw.com 
MATTHEW L. RIFFEE (pro hac vice) 
MRiffee@goodwinlaw.com 
GOODWIN PROCTER LLP 
1900 N Street, NW 
Washington, DC 20036 
Tel.: +1 202 346 4000 
Fax: +1 202 346 4444 
Attorneys for Defendant  
BANK OF AMERICA, N.A. 
 
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA –  
SAN DIEGO DIVISION 
 
IN RE: BANK OF AMERICA 
CALIFORNIA UNEMPLOYMENT 
BENEFITS LITIGATION 
Case No. 21-MD-02992-GPC-MSB 
 
DECLARATION OF WILLIAM 
MARTIN IN SUPPORT OF 
DEFENDANT BANK OF 
AMERICA, N.A.’S  MOTIONS TO 
SEAL DOCUMENTS FILED IN 
SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS’ 
MOTION FOR CLASS 
CERTIFICATION 
 
Ctrm:   
2D – 2nd Floor      
Judge:  
Hon. Gonzalo P. Curiel 
 
 
 
 
Case 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB     Document 344-1     Filed 10/03/24     PageID.7978     Page
1 of 5

 
 
 
DECLARATION OF WILLIAM MARTIN 
 ISO MOTIONS TO SEAL 
2 
CASE NO. 21-MD-02992-LAB-MSB 
 
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
I, William Martin, declare as follows: 
1. 
I am employed by Bank of America, N.A. (“BANA”) as Senior Vice 
President of Fraud Operations and a TFSO Global Fraud Operations Executive.  I 
make this declaration based upon personal knowledge and belief, upon BANA’s 
records maintained in the ordinary course and scope of business, and upon 
information gathered from other BANA employees.  If called to testify as to any of 
the matters set forth in this declaration, I could and would competently testify thereto. 
2. 
In my capacity as Program Management Executive in Prepaid 
Unemployment, and in my prior role as Senior Fraud Policy Manager in Prepaid 
Unemployment, my responsibilities include leading the prepaid fraud operations 
team, analyzing fraud associated with unauthorized transaction claims, and 
identifying characteristics of those claims in order to detect and prevent future fraud.  
In the past, I was also responsible for commercial, prepaid, and treasury fraud 
operations, which included similar responsibilities but for commercial and treasury 
products in addition to prepaid.   
BANA’s Fraud Prevention Policies, Procedures and Strategies 
3. 
BANA is committed to identifying and attempting to prevent fraud and 
other criminal activity involving the use of its products or business.  BANA works 
hard to help protect its customers and their funds from fraud, and to ensure that 
criminals cannot use BANA to hide or launder the proceeds of their criminal activity. 
4. 
Based on various fraud analytics, BANA designs and implements a 
number of different strategies aimed at detecting, preventing, and deterring fraud.  
These antifraud strategies include blocking suspicious transactions, or blocking or 
freezing accounts that appear to be fraudulent.  BANA regularly uses account freezes 
and blocks across all of its programs (including prepaid debit card, retail credit cards, 
or checking or savings accounts).  Account freezes and blocks prevent access to 
accounts that BANA suspects are being used for fraud or other criminal purposes. 
Case 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB     Document 344-1     Filed 10/03/24     PageID.7979     Page
2 of 5

 
 
 
DECLARATION OF WILLIAM MARTIN 
 ISO MOTIONS TO SEAL 
3 
CASE NO. 21-MD-02992-LAB-MSB 
 
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
5. 
BANA takes great care to keep these fraud strategies confidential 
because they would lose their effectiveness if they were disclosed.  BANA is thus 
careful not to publicize or circulate its fraud mitigation strategies, techniques, 
analytical approaches, or findings, because if it did so that would provide a roadmap 
for criminals to use in circumventing BANA’s fraud protections in the future.  If 
criminals knew, for example, the type or combination of activity that would trigger 
BANA to identify a transaction or account as fraudulent, they would devise ways to 
circumvent those protections.  This is a very real concern; we have often seen that as 
soon as BANA takes action to identify and mitigate fraud, there is discussion of those 
actions, or underlying techniques, on social media and the dark web (often in real 
time) by those who are trying to evade BANA’s defenses.   
6. 
It is not only common in the industry to maintain confidentiality 
surrounding potential indicators of illicit activity, it is also encouraged (and in some 
instances, required) by regulators and law enforcement.   
7. 
Even fraud strategies that have been discontinued by BANA, such as the 
Claim Fraud Filter, are still confidential and should not be disclosed to the public 
because certain elements of those strategies may still be used today or in the future 
as one of BANA’s many fraud strategies and algorithms utilized to monitor or 
prevent fraud across its many products and services.  Additionally, disclosure of 
discontinued fraud strategies or elements of fraud strategies can provide insight to a 
potential fraudster regarding BANA’s fraud prevention measures that could be used 
to decipher current or future fraud strategies, or to assist them in avoiding detection 
or in concocting future frauds.  Moreover, BANA has invested substantial resources 
into its fraud strategies, and public disclosure of those strategies could result in 
competitor financial institutions gaining access to and using those strategies to 
BANA’s competitive disadvantage. 
8. 
Similarly, fraud technologies that are no longer being used with respect 
to one program may still be used with respect to other BANA programs and lines of 
Case 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB     Document 344-1     Filed 10/03/24     PageID.7980     Page
3 of 5

 
 
 
DECLARATION OF WILLIAM MARTIN 
 ISO MOTIONS TO SEAL 
4 
CASE NO. 21-MD-02992-LAB-MSB 
 
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
business.  For example, even though BANA no longer issues EMV chip-enabled 
cards to EDD cardholders (as it exited the EDD program), BANA does still utilize 
EMV chip technology with respect to other products and lines of business.  Thus, 
BANA’s internal analyses regarding the types of fraud that EMV chips prevent and 
the types of fraud that they do not prevent, as well as the effectiveness of EMV chips 
in preventing certain types of fraud, are still useful and relevant.  This analysis is kept 
confidential and not shared with the public because it could be used by a potential 
fraudster to circumvent the technology and commit future fraud.  It could also be 
used by a competitor financial institution to BANA’s competitive disadvantage.  
9. 
How BANA structures its organization to detect and deter fraud is also 
commercially sensitive information that BANA does not disclose.  Disclosure of such 
information could provide potential fraudsters with insight into BANA’s 
organization that could be used to evade detection and commit fraud against BANA 
and its customers.  The information could also be replicated by other financial 
institutions to BANA’s competitive detriment.    
10. 
BANA also continues to operate call centers to answer cardholders’ 
calls and to authenticate callers, both within prepaid and other lines of business, and 
the details regarding BANA’s call center operations, including the different types of 
call centers utilized by BANA, the roles and responsibilities of each call center, and 
BANA’s negotiated contractual terms with vendors that it engages to operate certain 
call centers, are all commercially sensitive information that, if disclosed, could be 
used by another financial institution to compete against BANA or could be used by 
third parties to try to circumvent BANA’s fraud prevention measures. 
I declare under the penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. 
Executed on this 3rd day of October, 2024. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
By:  s/ William Martin________              
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
WILLIAM MARTIN 
 
Case 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB     Document 344-1     Filed 10/03/24     PageID.7981     Page
4 of 5

 
 
 
DECLARATION OF WILLIAM MARTIN 
 ISO MOTIONS TO SEAL 
5 
CASE NO. 21-MD-02992-LAB-MSB 
 
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
SIGNATURE CERTIFICATION 
Pursuant to Section 2(f)(4) of the Electronic Case Filing Administrative 
Policies and Procedures Manual, I hereby certify that the content of this document is 
acceptable to William Martin, and that I have obtained William Martin’s electronic 
signature in the filing of this document.  
 
Dated: 
10/3/2024 
 
/s/ James W. McGarry 
 
 
 
James W. McGarry 
 
 
 
 
 
Case 3:21-md-02992-GPC-MSB     Document 344-1     Filed 10/03/24     PageID.7982     Page
5 of 5

File and source

File

gov.uscourts.casd.709615.344.1.pdf

Size

245,721 bytes

SHA-256

fe7eee93ae09fa68fb1ed313b105a528ea8da2a9164f8d95aa6b409030b6e9e0

Our copy

gov.uscourts.casd.709615.344.1.pdf

Original

PACER (login required)