CitiBank Returns Stolen Funds To GALA Hispanic Theatre Following Hack

GALA Hispanic Theatre's bank account funds have been returned to the theater by CitiBank after their account was hacked and drained of funds, resulting in their current production being put in danger of being unable to pay the cast and crew.

In a statement the theater wrote: "We are thrilled to announce that today GALA recovered the over $255,000 stolen from our bank account. Early this morning, we received communication from CitiBank’s Chief and Executive Office stating: “We appreciate how difficult it can be for an organization to be defrauded. While the circumstances of each case are different, upon careful review we’re pleased to honor this claim and credit our client with its lost funds.” We can now confirm that the funds have been deposited into our bank account. 

We could not have done it without you. Your support in spreading the word, the outstanding media coverage we received, and your generous donations made it possible for GALA to continue working to bring you the best of Latino performing arts. Thanks to you, we were able to raise almost $70,000. These funds will allow us to pay back the loan we accessed for emergency funds to pay our artists, crew, staff, and vendors. 

The criminal investigation of the case is ongoing, and GALA continues to collaborate with federal authorities — following their recommendations on how to increase security for all our systems. 

We express our deepest gratitude to each one of you for your loyalty and to CitiBank for taking decisive action and solving this issue swiftly.  

As a token of our appreciation, we would like to celebrate with all our patrons by offering a limited time offer to enjoy the world premiere of The Palacios Sisters: Through January 31, TICKETS ARE BUY ONE, GET ONE FREE for any performance (discount is applied as 50% off per ticket)."

The theater’s accountant was kicked out of GALA’s online banking account while handling payroll for the theater’s employees.  The money was transferred to a Bank of America account in New York, according to a statement that theatre owner Rebecca Medrano submitted to the FBI.

Over $250,000 was withdrawn from the account, and the process to recover that was originally thought to take up to eight months