Bank Employee Sent To Prison In Fraud Case in Honolulu, Hawaii

A Honolulu federal judge Monday sentenced a former American Savings Bank employee to four months in prison in a fraud case involving hundreds of thousands of dollars from a customer's account.

Marilyn DeMotta was convicted of diverting $300,000 from the account of Ada P.S. Lim, 91, in 2007. The money was diverted to new accounts to make it look like the bank was bringing in more customers, officials said.
Judge David Ezra sentenced DeMotta to the prison time, four months of house arrest and three years of probation. A judge ruled DeMotta must serve the prison time in Hawaii, but the rest of the time can be served in Nevada, where she cares for her handicapped husband.
Since the case began, the victim, Lim, has died. Prosecutors said that made prosecuting the case more difficult.
After the incident, a new law was introduced requiring financial institutions to report any suspicion an older person is being ripped off.