WISH-TV
The FBI on Thursday raided a financial services office in Westfield, leaving employees at neighboring businesses shocked and confused.
Photo provided
The office, home to the Westfield-based company banc-serv, is located on Main Street.
FBI agents walked in and out of the building with bags and boxes. Investigators took photographers and moved back and forth between their van and the building. The agents responded “no comment” and “sorry, can’t say anything” when a reporter asked what they were looking for and what they found.
Ken Cottle works for a company that shares a parking lot with banc-serv.
“Here in Westfield, you don’t expect anything like that,” Cottle said. “I knew they do small-business lending, but we don’t have a whole lot of interaction. Still, you hear ‘FBI,’ and it’s kind of shocking.”
Banc-serv’s website says the company is a Small Business Administration lending partner. The company claims to have more than 40 employees and hundreds of clients across the country.
People working in the area said they’ve never noticed anything unusual at the building.
“It doesn’t scare me. It is a little intimidating when you hear the FBI is in your parking lot, but I don’t think it has any impact on our business or the well-being of Westfield,” Cottle said.
An FBI spokesperson sent us an email saying the FBI is investigating, but she will not say what they are investigating.
Banc-serv did not respond to a request for comment.