BRIDGEPORT, CALIFORNIA BANK MANAGER PLEADS TO EMBEZZLEMENT

On October 9, 2013, Roxanna Foley, 52, of Bridgeport, pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement by a bank employee, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

According to court documents, Foley worked at Eastern Sierra Community Bank (ECSB). Starting in November 2011, bank officials noticed discrepancies with the Bridgeport branch of ESCB. On March 19, 2012, managers from the bank made an unannounced visit to that branch to investigate a suspicious $90,000 transaction. After a review of the bank’s records, officials identified $90,000 in misplaced funds, as well as $6,000 missing from Foley’s teller drawer.

During the surprise inspection, Foley admitted to taking $6,000 from her cash drawer, as well as an additional $312,000 from the bank. A later review of the Bishop ECSB’s accounts uncovered $322,000 in missing funds, as well as multiple electronic “covering transactions” – that is, transactions moving money between accounts – made by Foley. Officials also learned that Foley had also been circumventing normal banking procedures at ECSB, including single-handedly taking over all counting and auditing of ECSB accounts when dual-counting procedures were required.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Mono County Sheriff’s Department, the Mono County District Attorney’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Kyle Reardon is prosecuting the case.

Foley is scheduled to be sentenced by Unites States District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller on January 29, 2104, at 9:00 a.m. She faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, a $1 million fine, and a five-year term of supervised release. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.