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 Radcliff issued or directed cashier's checks from funds withdrawn from customer accounts issued in the name of the customer, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.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.