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Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Woman accused of embezzling $20K from Credit Union

A 29-year-old woman is accused of embezzling $20,000 from the Oakland Park credit union where she worked, according to a Broward Sheriff's Office report.

Tiffany May, of Lauderhill, was charged with grand theft in connection with the missing money from Priority One Credit Union, 1900 W. Oakland Park Blvd. She was ordered held on $5,000 bail during her first-appearance court hearing Wednesday.

According to the report, May was captured in a surveillance video placing one money bag, instead of two, into the vault. When confronted, May admitted to taking the money over a period of more than three years, the report said.

She told investigators that to avoid detection, she made transfers to her till when her money drawer was counted each month.

May said she spent the money on bills, but returned $12,700 to the credit union after her employer confronted her, authorities said.

Former Bank Teller Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement Scheme

A bank teller in Greenup County has pleaded guilty to federal charges of stealing more than $800,000 from her former employer.

Brenda Gammon, 41, of South Shore, pleaded guilty to a criminal information charging her with bank embezzlement and aggravated identity theft during a hearing in U.S. District Court in Ashland this week.

According to the plea agreement, Gammon admitted to embezzling $829,600 from Home Federal Saving & Loan between June, 2004, and July 2012.

During that time, Gammon was from promoted from teller to head teller.

Prosecutors say as part of the scheme, Gammon use the identity of another person to obtain some of the monies.

Gammon faces up to 32 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 when she is sentenced in April. She must also pay back the money she stole

Huge embezzlement investigated at Fresno bank

 More than $800,000 is missing from a Fresno bank and the branch manager has disappeared.

The FBI is now investigating the case and they're not commenting on it, but Action News uncovered a search warrant. It shows the money disappeared in the month after the assistant manager went on maternity leave and the manager was suddenly in control of the vault.

Security guards stationed at this southeast Fresno Bank of America branch keep an eye out for trouble outside, but police are discovering big problems on the inside .A search warrant filed by Fresno police shows massive amounts of cash missing from the bank's vault and from individual tellers' carts.

Employees pointed the finger at the manager Sylvia Ochoa. The warrant reveals she was frequently in the bank after hours and video showed her exiting the vault while it was closed.

Defense attorney Ralph Torres says Ochoa may be facing serious trouble.

"We're talking about a lot of cash and I would expect because of the cash, you're looking at the federal government getting involved," he said.

Police served the warrant at the house Ochoa rented in northwest Fresno -- seizing weapons and high-end electronics, as well as some cash. But Ochoa wasn't there, and the house is now empty.

Neighbors say she packed up and left that same month. In the warrant, police said Ochoa made some admissions that wrongdoing had occurred, but that was before she disappeared.

Torres says her departure may create even bigger problems.

"If you leave knowing that you're being investigated, they could use that against you in a court of law, absolutely," he said.

A Bank of America spokeswoman told Action News she couldn't discuss many details of the incident, but told us "Bank of America holds its employees to the highest standards of integrity, so this situation is quite disheartening."

She also told us no customers' accounts were impacted by the theft, and confirmed the suspect is no longer employed at the bank.

Ochoa could face charges of grand theft, embezzlement, and even burglary

Guilty plea to embezzlement of nearly $350,000 from Discover Bank

Kimberly Y. Drummond,  47, of Middletown, pled guilty to one count of embezzlement from a federally insured financial institution.

Drummond, who will be sentenced on April 3, 2014, by  Leonard P. Stark, United States District Judge for the District of Delaware, could face 30  years in prison, a fine of $1 million, and 6 years of supervised release following her prison sentence.

According to statements made at the plea hearing on December 12, and documents filed in court, Drummond was employed by Discover Financial Services, in New Castle, Delaware, for nearly 20 years. In or around November 2008, Drummond began falsifying entries in Discover’s books and records, resulting in the issuance of duplicate checks from Discover Bank. Drummond deposited the checks into her personal bank accounts and she used the checks to pay her mortgage lender.  Drummond embezzled more than $349,000 from Discover from November 2008 through August 2012.

The  case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lauren Paxton.

Former Bank Branch Manager in Garden City Sentenced for Embezzlement

A former branch manager at Landmark National Bank in Garden City, Kansas, has been sentenced for embezzling more than $99,000 from the bank, United States Attorney Barry Grissom said today. Sheri L Green, 52, Garden City, Kansas, was sentenced Monday to three years’ supervised release and ordered to pay $99,060 in restitution. She pleaded guilty to one count of misapplication of bank funds by a bank employee. In her plea, she admitted that in December 2012, while she was employed as branch manager for Landmark National Bank in Garden City, the bank discovered she had embezzled approximately $99,600 from the bank to cover her gambling losses.

She took the money by shifting money between customer accounts. Several customers had noticed irregular entries in their bank statements and complained to Green. She corrected the withdrawals by shifting money from other accounts to the complaining customer’s accounts to cover her tracks. Grissom commended the FBI and Assistant United States Attorney Barry Grissom for their work on the case.

First Financial Bank Employee Charged with Embezzlement

The Office of the United States Attorney has filed a criminal information charging Jeannie M. Bellar with embezzlement.  The indictment states:


Jeannie M. Bellar, being an employee with First Financial Bank . . . did steal and embezzle the sume of approximately SEVENTEEN THOUSAND ($17,000.00) DOLLARS . . .and without authority converted it to her own use.

It is unknown whether Bellar has been arrested but it would be unusual for the US Attorney to announce an indictment without first arranging for the arrest or surrender of the Defendant.

Former Weston Bank Manager Sentenced on Embezzlement Charge

A federal judge has sentenced a former Huntington National Bank Weston branch manager to three years and one month in prison for stealing customer deposits.

Deborah D. Radcliff, 51, of Weston, pleaded guilty in July to one count of embezzlement by a bank employee of more than $1,000 and one count of structuring deposit amounts to evade federal reporting requirements. Radcliff structured transactions to cause the bank to fail to file a currency transaction report for transactions of $10,000 or more. Radcliff issued or directed cashier's checks from funds withdrawn from customer accounts issued in the name of the customer, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. Radcliff would take possession of the cashier's check, forge the name of the depositor and cash the checks for her personal benefit.

Chief Judge John Preston Bailey ordered Radcliff to pay a minimum of $100 a month restitution to repay the $247,249.88 she embezzled. Following her prison sentence, Radcliff will be placed on three years of supervised release. "Ms. Radcliff preyed upon her most vulnerable customers at the bank in order to line her own pockets," said U.S. Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, "Anyone who targets the elderly in a scheme like this deserves a significant punishment like the one imposed by the court."

Radcliff is free on bond. She will report to federal prison in February.

Former Weston Bank Manager Sentenced on Embezzlement Charge

A federal judge has sentenced a former Huntington National Bank Weston branch manager to three years and one month in prison for stealing customer deposits.

Deborah D. Radcliff, 51, of Weston, pleaded guilty in July to one count of embezzlement by a bank employee of more than $1,000 and one count of structuring deposit amounts to evade federal reporting requirements. Radcliff structured transactions to cause the bank to fail to file a currency transaction report for transactions of $10,000 or more. Radcliff issued or directed cashier's checks from funds withdrawn from customer accounts issued in the name of the customer, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. Radcliff would take possession of the cashier's check, forge the name of the depositor and cash the checks for her personal benefit.

Chief Judge John Preston Bailey ordered Radcliff to pay a minimum of $100 a month restitution to repay the $247,249.88 she embezzled. Following her prison sentence, Radcliff will be placed on three years of supervised release. "Ms. Radcliff preyed upon her most vulnerable customers at the bank in order to line her own pockets," said U.S. Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, "Anyone who targets the elderly in a scheme like this deserves a significant punishment like the one imposed by the court."

Radcliff is free on bond. She will report to federal prison in February.

Former Weston Bank Manager Sentenced on Embezzlement Charge

A federal judge has sentenced a former Huntington National Bank Weston branch manager to three years and one month in prison for stealing customer deposits.

Deborah D. Radcliff, 51, of Weston, pleaded guilty in July to one count of embezzlement by a bank employee of more than $1,000 and one count of structuring deposit amounts to evade federal reporting requirements. Radcliff structured transactions to cause the bank to fail to file a currency transaction report for transactions of $10,000 or more. Radcliff issued or directed cashier's checks from funds withdrawn from customer accounts issued in the name of the customer, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. Radcliff would take possession of the cashier's check, forge the name of the depositor and cash the checks for her personal benefit.

Chief Judge John Preston Bailey ordered Radcliff to pay a minimum of $100 a month restitution to repay the $247,249.88 she embezzled. Following her prison sentence, Radcliff will be placed on three years of supervised release. "Ms. Radcliff preyed upon her most vulnerable customers at the bank in order to line her own pockets," said U.S. Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, "Anyone who targets the elderly in a scheme like this deserves a significant punishment like the one imposed by the court."

Radcliff is free on bond. She will report to federal prison in February.

Former branch manager of Belgrade State Bank indicted

A federal indictment was returned Wednesday naming Sheila Aubuchon as the defendant in an alleged scheme to misdirect funds at Belgrade State Bank for her personal use.
Aubuchon was indicted by a federal grand jury on three felony counts of bank fraud, three felony counts of theft or embezzlement by a bank employee and two felony counts of causing Belgrade Bank to fail to file CTRs.
The case is being investigated by the United States Secret Service and the Internal Revenue Service. Assistant United States Attorney Richard E. Finneran is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The indictment alleges that Aubuchon forged signatures, altered account numbers and evaded bank procedures in order to conceal her misappropriation of more than $120,000 in funds owned by Belgrade State Bank and its customers.
The indictment also alleges that Aubuchon failed to file currency transaction reports (CTRs) relating to these transactions as required by federal law. The financial crimes allegedly took place in Potosi.
According to the indictment, the former branch manager sought out individuals vulnerable to theft and fraud such as the elderly and recently deceased, according to the grand jury. She kept records in her office reflecting the obituaries of recently deceased individuals, a number of whom became her victims.
Once she picked a victim, she forged their signatures and initials, created false documents reflecting transactions and request never approved by the bank or the customer and modified account information, according to the indictment.
The indictment also accuses Aubuchon of processing transactions of more than $10,000 in cash without completing a currency transaction report as required by federal law.
Aubuchon would alter account numbers to indicate her own personal account number and often conduct her fraudulent activities outside normal business hours, according to the indictment.
If convicted, each count of bank fraud and embezzlement carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. Failure to file a CTR carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. In determining any actual sentence imposed, a judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.