Robert “Bob” Hartheimer has been fired from his role as chief executive officer of Evolve Bank after he tried to meet a 15-year-old boy for sex. Hartheimer was arrested last week in Memphis after he propositioned the 15-year-old boy on the app Grindr, unaware that the boy was actually an undercover FBI agent.
How it began
According to a CNBC report, on October 19, an undercover FBI agent logged into Grindr pretending to be a 15-year-old boy.
A user called “Tomm” — later revealed to be Hartheimer — messaged the ‘boy’ and eventually sent him an explicit photograph after exchanging a few texts.
“Hey any chance u would hu with an older and chill guy,” ‘Tomm’ asked the FBI agent posing as a teen on Grindr, according to an affidavit that was unsealed on Tuesday.
The two spoke about meeting in person and also moved their conversation to Snapchat, where they discussed sex acts they might perform.
Hartheimer asked the boy for a photograph without shorts on, and sent him one of himself naked. “Do u want to trade nudes?” the CEO of Evolve Bank asked the ‘boy’, according to the affidavit.
The FBI was able to trace the account of Tomm to Bob Hartheimer.
Arrest and charges
{{/usCountry}}The FBI was able to trace the account of Tomm to Bob Hartheimer.
Arrest and charges
{{/usCountry}}Hartheimer was arrested in Memphis, Tennessee on October 23. He has been charged with attempted production of child pornography and transfer of obscene material to a minor, according to a warrant.
People familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal that FBI agents in bulletproof vests arrested Hartheimer at Evolve Bank’s headquarters in Memphis on October 23.
Blake Ballin, a lawyer representing Hartheimer, told CNBC on Saturday that he had been fired from his position as CEO of Evolve Bank & Trust. Evolve confirmed this.
“Bob’s family is aware of the charges,” Ballin said. “His family loves and supports him and requests privacy during this difficult period in their lives. We have no further comment at this time.”
Eric Helvie, a spokesman for Evolve, also confirmed that Hartheimer has been fired.
“We are in close contact with the US 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,” Helvie said, according to the Wall Street Journal. “That said, we have offered our full cooperation as they investigate.”