A former credit union employee who admitted stealing more than $100,000 from the credit union and from her grandparents’ account will spend about a year in federal prison.

A former credit union employee who admitted stealing more than $100,000 from the credit union and from her grandparents’ account will spend about a year in federal prison.



Senior U.S. District Judge Jack Shanstrom on Wednesday sentenced Sarah Anne Housley, 34, to one year and a day in prison, The sentence qualifies her for a shorter sentence with good behavior. He also ordered her to pay $110,690 restitution and allowed her to report to prison when assigned to a facility.



“I’m just sorry for what happened. I did abuse the trust of co-workers and my grandparents. I was just in a horrible place,” Housley said.



Housley told the court that she felt threatened by her husband and was concerned for her children. “I just didn’t have any options at the time,” she said.



Housley’s attorney, Brian Kohn, recommended a sentence to a halfway house where Housley could still have family support and contact with her children. Housley’s stealing was triggered by an abusive husband, he said.



Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Archer objected to a community corrections sentence.



“Giving her a break here would be 12 months and one day,” he said.



Housley pleaded guilty in April to one count of bank embezzlement for stealing from the Montana Health Federal Credit Union, where she had been employed for seven years.



An investigation found that Housley, who worked as a business development officer, stole $94,158 from her grandparents’ account in hundreds of transactions and embezzled additional money from her teller drawer.



The thefts occurred from January 2008 to July 2010. An investigation began when the credit union’s chief executive officer, Sherry Essmann, noticed that Housley was having problems balancing her personal account.



Essmann asked the judge to send a message that he does not excuse criminal behavior based on a criminal’s family situation and that embezzlement will not be tolerated in the community. The monetary loss was only part of the “devastation” that Housley caused, she said.



“She cheated people who believed in her and depended on her,” Essmann said. “Not only has Ms. Housley caused our credit union financial loss, but she has single-handedly created an atmosphere of skepticism, suspicion and doubt within the ranks at the credit union. Our dedicated, resilient staff has worked hard to repair the emotional damage,” she said.



“Because I decided to do the right thing and pursue prosecution of this crime on behalf of the credit union membership, our credit union has been threatened and I have been personally vilified in front of family and friends,” Essmann said.



The credit union reimbursed Housley’s grandparents for their losses, while the credit union’s insurance company paid the entire amount, minus a deductible, to the credit union, Archer said in court records.







Read more: http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/article_6fe51aff-e2bf-53e8-8161-e874cee0fb1f.html#ixzz1YQ4V8aGs