Former Nebraska banker gets 3 1/2 years in prison

A former Sidney banker has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison for embezzling over $1.3 million.  Matt Monheiser was handed the 42 month sentence in federal court Monday and he will also serve five years of supervised release after he is out of prison.
     The 38-year-old Monheiser was convicted of taking almost $1,365,000 from what was the former First National Bank in Sidney where he was vice president and branch manager.  The thefts occurred between March 2003 and August 2012 where he used funds from customers’ loan accounts to buy cashier’s checks in customers’ names.  He also created loans in customers’ names and stole $82,000 cash directly from the bank vault.
     After pleading guilty last spring, Monheiser told KSID he was addicted to gambling, which fed his embezzlement.  He was treated for 28 days at a wellness center in Virginia shortly after the thefts were discovered.
     According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office $500,000 restitution has already been paid.  Monheiser told us in April that a cash-collateral account has been set up to repay the rest but would not say who funded the accoun

Bank Official Pleads Guilty To Embezzlement in Nebraska

A former executive at a western Nebraska bank has pleaded guilty to stealing almost $1.4 million from the branch he ran.

     Matthew Monheiser pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to stealing $1,364,953.66 from the former First National Bank in Sidney.

     The 38-year-old says he has already repaid $500,000 to the bank and made arrangements to pay another $1 million in restitution.

     Prosecutors say Monheiser took the money between 2003 and 2012. Most of the money was obtained by creating loans or issuing cashier's checks in customers' names, increasing existing loans or creating new loans in customer names.

     Monheiser also took $82,000 in cash from the bank vault.

     Monheiser is scheduled to be sentenced on June 24. Prosecutors agreed to recommend a sentence at the low end of the recommended range.

A former Sidney bank executive now says a gambling addiction drove him to steal more than a million dollars.

Matt Monheiser pleaded guilty in federal court last week to embezzling more than $1.3 million from what is now known as Points West Community Bank in Sidney.

He shared how deep the addiction became saying, “The best way I can explain it is that it consumed me as much as someone who does drugs, alcohol or smoking. Gambling took my career and almost my life away from me. I needed treatment in the worst way, but like most addicts you don’t know you need help until you hit rock bottom.”

After the embezzlement was discovered last August, Monheiser was relieved of his duties and treated at a wellness center in Virginia.

The bank has been re-paid in full, plus $136,000 in interest for a total restitution of $1.5 million according to Monheiser and the current bank president. Monheiser still faces sentencing and a likely prison term June 24.

Nebraska Embezzlement charges dropped

A Nebraska man won't go to trial for embezzling money from the bank he worked at.

U.S. Bank dropped the case against 28-year-old Jason Hill. Hill faced felony charges for transferring more $13,600 from customer accounts into his own between June of 2009 to this January. The dropped charges come after Hill repaid all the money.

Arrest in Lincoln, Nebraska Bank Account Embezzlement

Lincoln police say a 28-year-old man has been arrested, accused of stealing more than $13,600 from bank customer accounts. Capt. David Beggs says 28-year-old Jason Hill transferred the money into his account while working at a U.S. Bank branch in Lincoln between June last year and this past January.
Beggs says Hill has already returned the money. A jail spokeswoman says Hill has left county custody.
There is no public phone listing for Hill. Court records don't list his attorney's name.