Ex-SW Va. bank teller gets four years in fraud

A former bank teller in Southwest Virginia was sentenced to four years in prison for bank fraud, embezzlement, credit-card fraud and identity theft.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said Amber Renee Franks, 33, of Coeburn was sentenced Friday in federal court in Big Stone Gap. She also was ordered to pay more than $35,000 in restitution to her victims. A jury convicted her on 13 counts in May. According to evidence, Franks fraudulently used two credit cards in the names of her adopted father and deceased mother.
The part-time teller at the Coeburn BB&T Bank branch also forged balance transfer checks using her deceased mother's name and drafted fraudulent documents to withdraw nearly $32,000 from the account of an elderly customer and his deceased wife.