Bridgeport, Nevada teller faces 30 years in embezzlement

A Bridgeport woman faces up to 30 years in federal prison after she admitted to embezzling $322,000 from Eastern Sierra Community Bank.

Roxanna Foley, 52, entered a plea to one count of embezzlement by a bank employee in federal court on Oct. 9, according to U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner.

Bank officials began noticing discrepancies at the Bridgeport branch of the bank.

According to court documents, they made an unannounced visit to the branch to investigate a suspicious $90,000 transaction.

After reviewing the bank’s records, officials identified the misplaced funds, and $6,000 missing from Foley’s teller drawer.

Foley admitted to taking the $6,000 from her drawer as well as another $312,000 from the bank. A later review revealed that there was $322,000 missing, and several electronic transactions Foley made to conceal the theft.

Foley had circumvented bank procedure by taking over all counting and auditing procedures.

She was arrested in April 2012, after 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.

She is scheduled to be sentenced by U. S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller on Jan. 29, 2014. In addition to the prison sentence, she also faces 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.

Former Citizens Bank loan officer sentenced to 33 months for embezzlement in Nevada

FROM: THEUNION.COM

A former commercial loan officer with Citizens Bank was sentenced in federal court to nearly three years in prison after pleading guilty to embezzlement and other charges.

Melvin Rohs, 65, of Nevada City, had pleaded guilty to three counts of theft, embezzlement or misapplication of bank officer or employee and two counts of making a false statement in connection with a loan application or renewal. According to court documents, the loss associated with his criminal conduct totals more than $2 million.
Rohs was sentenced Tuesday to 33 months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. He also was ordered to pay $533,976 in restitution.
Rohs was a senior loan officer and assistant vice president at Citizens Bank until he was terminated in May 2009. The bank is based in Nevada City, with offices throughout Nevada County and in Auburn.
In December 2008, February 2009, and March 2009, Rohs initiated three unauthorized fund transfers from the account of one customer — UDC Sierra Cove — to the account of a second customer — Gordon Hellwig, doing business as California Land Title Co. — totaling $472,110.
On the last occasion, Rohs transferred money the day after Hellwig's credit line became overdrawn, falsely noting on the request that UDC Sierra Cove was buying land from Hellwig.
There did not appear to be anything other than a customer-client relationship between Rohs and Hellwig. Hellwig told an IRS investigator he was unaware of the transactions, adding he contacted Rohs on several occasions because his bank balances were not accurate.
Citizens Bank was unable to recover the transferred funds from California Land Title and was forced to swallow the losses.
Rohs also falsified Hellwig's loan documents in September 2008 and April 2009 by making false statements concerning his credit worthiness and by making an unauthorized increase to the loan approved by the bank.

Las Vegas couple accused of embezzling $1.2 million pleads guilty from credit union

A Las Vegas couple pleaded guilty Thursday to federal charges of embezzling $1.2 million from a California credit union and filing a false income tax return, according to the Internal Revenue Service.
Mireya Guadalupe Gonzalez, 37, pleaded guilty to one count of embezzling funds from Sharebuilders Federal Credit Union, a federally insured credit union in Northridge, Calif. In addition, Mireya and her husband, Jorge Luis Gonzalez, 35, each pleaded guilty to one count of subscribing to false income tax returns.
A joint investigation by the IRS Criminal Investigation unit in Los Angeles and the Federal Bureau of Investigation found that between January 2005 and March 2007, Mireya worked as the manager of Sharebuilders FCU, and had access to computerized records and the ability to authorize transfers between accounts, according to her plea agreement.
Mireya Gonzalez allegedly identified several accounts that were inactive or had minimal funds on deposit and electronically transferred funds to a joint checking account with her husband and two accounts that were in her children’s names, according to IRS investigators. She also deposited funds from the general ledger accounts of Sharebuilders FCU to the family accounts, investigators said.
The embezzled money was used to buy personal items such as jewelry, automobiles and luxury items, officials said.
The withdrawals from the dormant accounts created large negative balances. Mireya Gonzalez allegedly covered up the fraudulent deposits to the Gonzalez accounts by changing names and numbers assigned to the dormant accounts, transferring balances to the dormant accounts from other accounts and providing false information to auditors hired by Sharebuilders FCU.
The National Credit Union Administration Board seized Sharebuilders FCU in April 2007 due to insolvency.
Mireya and Jorge Gonzalez failed to report the embezzled income on their joint tax returns, officials said. According to Mireya Gonzalez’s plea agreement, she and her husband didn’t report $676,000 in income for 2005, $338,000 for 2006 and $150,000 for 2007.
Mireya Gonzalez faces a possible maximum sentence of 33 years in federal prison and fines up to $1.1 million. In addition, she will be required to pay full restitution to Sharebuilders FCU and the IRS. The amount will be determined before sentencing.
Jorge Gonzalez faces a possible maximum sentence of three years in federal prison and fines up to $100,000. Both are to be sentenced Sept. 26 by U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee.

$3.7M Embezzled By Former Bank Officer, City Councilman in Nevada

United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that Stephen Marich, 43, of Ely, Nev. pleaded guilty Monday before United States District Judge Kent J. Dawson in federal court in Las Vegas to embezzling at least $3.7 million from the First National Bank of Ely over about 10 years.




Upon discovering Marich’s activity, the Bank of Ely promptly reported it to law enforcement and followed up with a thorough internal investigation.



The case was extensively investigated by the FBI. They have determined that Marich acted alone. This case is being prosecuted by Eastern District of California Assistant United States Attorney. According to the plea agreement, from the mid-1990s until about December 7, 2009, Marich was an employee of the First National Bank of Ely, most recently as a vice president. Marich admitted using his control over a treasury bill account to steal at least $3.7. He used the funds for his personal benefit and also to make transfers to offshore online gambling enterprises. According to public accounts, Marich was an Ely city councilman until he resigned during this investigation.




Marich is scheduled to be sentenced on May 11, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. The maximum statutory penalty for a embezzlement of more than $1 million by a bank employee is 30 years in prison. 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.

Former Citizens Bank loan officer pleads guilty to embezzlement in Nevada

Melvin Rohs, 64, of Nevada City, pleaded guilty today in federal court to three counts of embezzlement by a bank employee and two counts of making a false statement in connection with a loan application.




This case is the product of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Camil A. Skipper is prosecuting the case.



According to court documents, Rohs was a senior loan officer at a regional bank headquartered in Nevada City until he was terminated in May 2009. While Skipper declined to name the bank, Rohs was listed online as having been an assistant vice president and a senior commercial loan underwriter at Citizens Bank.



In December 2008, February 2009, and March 2009, Rohs initiated three unauthorized fund transfers from the account of one customer to the account of a second customer, totaling $472,109.80. Also according to court documents, in September 2008 and April 2009, Rohs falsified the loan documents of the second customer by making materially false statements concerning credit worthiness and by making an unauthorized increase to the loan approved by the bank. The loss associated with Rohs' criminal conduct totals $2,172,109.80.



Rohs is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Karlton on March 1. The maximum statutory penalty Rohs faces is 30 years in prison on each count and a fine of $5 million. Rohs also will be ordered to make restitution to the victim of his offenses.

Nevada bank embezzler gets probation

A Gardnerville woman who used her position at a bank to take $2,100 from a woman's account, received probation on Monday.

Danielle M. Stafford, 28, received a suspended 12-30-month prison sentence, after Judge Michael Gibbons determined that her crime of attempted embezzlement would be treated as a felony.
He told Stafford that she could apply to the court to have the charge reduced down to a gross misdemeanor if she successfully completed two years probation.
“This was premeditated theft from an individual using her ability at the bank,” Gibbons said. “The recommendation is way too lenient.”
Prosecutor Erik Levin recommended a 12-month suspended sentence, while defense attorney Kris Brown and the Nevada Department of Parole and Probation recommended a six-month suspended sentence.
Working in Stafford's favor is that she repaid the money before the bank filed charges.
Levin said he has never had someone do that before, and had to figure out how to handle the money.
Gibbons agreed that the incident appeared to be an aberration in Stafford's behavior.
She had no criminal record, according to Brown.