In March, the OCC issued a statement announcing Prashant Bhardwaj would lead its new Office of Financial Technology, taking on the role of deputy comptroller and chief financial technology officer.The watchdog described Bhardwaj as having "nearly 30 years of experience serving in a variety of roles across the financial sector," but did not list any of these positions.By the summer, Bhardwaj appears to have already left the $300,000 -a-year job, with OCC veteran Miriam Bazan leading the newly created office.According to The Information and Fintech Business Weekly, a plethora of claims about Bhardwaj’s former employment are false.He claimed that from January 2006 to March 2010 he was CIO at Fifth Third Bank, before taking up the same position at Huntington Bank.

He did not hold either role, with a Fifth Third spokesperson telling Fintech Business Daily that he has never worked for the bank.Bhardwaj also claimed to have worked for Citi, beginning in 1994, when he would have been 13.There are also questions about Bhardwaj’s educational credentials and an extensive criminal history.The OCC has not responded to questions about its due diligence.