Former bank officer to plead guilty to defrauding Rockland Savings of more than $400,000 in Maine

A 45-year-old Rockland woman is scheduled to plead guilty Tuesday to a charge that she bilked the Rockland Savings Bank of more than $400,000 over a three-year period.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office and Shauna L. Quinn filed an agreement Aug. 8 in U.S. District Court that Quinn would plead guilty to bank fraud.

Quinn could face up to 30 years in federal prison although the agreement points out that the prosecution is recommending that U.S. District Court Judge George Singal find that Quinn cooperated with authorities and thus should be given a lesser sentence. The judge, however, does not have to accept that recommendation.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office, through Assistant U.S. Attorney James Chapman Jr., states in paperwork filed Thursday that if the case had gone to trial, the federal government would have proved that between July 2008 and June 2011, she came up with a scheme to defraud Rockland Savings of more than $400,000.

The scheme, according to the federal government, involved extending home equity lines of credit and loans in the names of family members and then using that money for her personal use, for the use of family members, and to make payments on loans. The lines of credit and loans were done without authorization of the bank or the family members, according to the prosecution.

Last year, Quinn’s brother, Christopher Wellman, and sister-in-law, Tara Wellman, both of Hope filed a civil lawsuit against the bank, claiming it allowed an employee to steal $95,000 from his accounts and took out a $68,000 loan in his name without his knowledge.

Maine Superior Court Justice Jeffrey Hjelm dismissed the bulk of that lawsuit in December.

Quinn was hired by Rockland Savings in August 2000 as a teller. She was promoted in October 2004 to a customer service representative and in May 2007 was transferred to the collections department. In 2008, she also was given the duty of processing loans.

The bank became aware of the scheme in June 2011 when it learned Quinn had deposited $5,000 into an account with her daughter’s name on it. The money was traced to a line of credit in the name of Quinn’s mother, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The bank reviewed transactions and found that within the previous 45 days, Quinn had transferred about $55,000 from her daughter’s account to her own account.

Bank officials confronted her on June 24, 2011, and she admitted to making unauthorized increases to lines of credit and creating unauthorized loans to family members.

She was immediately fired by the bank, the prosecution stated.

Quinn is represented by attorney Dale Thistle of Newport.

Quinn was charged in December and indicted by a federal grand jury in January. She was scheduled to go to trial next month.

Woman pleads not guilty to embezzling from Glacier Bank in Montana

A former Glacier Bank employee has pleaded not guilty to theft by embezzlement after allegedly taking $3,100 from the business.

Kristen Kleiv, 27, of Bigfork, entered the plea Thursday in Flathead District Court.
According to a court document, a till allegedly run by Kleiv was reported to be $3,100 short on March 15. An internal investigation at the bank allegedly showed Kleiv had been taking money from her till since Nov. 6, 2012. She had been an employee since October 2012.
During a later interview, Kleiv allegedly admitted taking $20 from her till several months ago, continuing to take more money over the next several months until she was caught. She allegedly admitted taking $3,100 total.
If convicted, Kleiv faces up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $50,000, and restitution to the bank. She is currently released on her own recognizance.
The next hearing in Kleiv’s case is set for Oct. 30.

Bank Teller Sentenced for Embezzling from Customer Accounts in Maryland

United States District Judge Paul W Grimm sentenced Irene Quansah, age 37, of Germantown, Maryland, today to two years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for embezzlement and income tax evasion. Judge Grimm also entered an order that Quansah forfeit and pay restitution of $144,908.33 to the victim bank and $30,000 to the IRS. The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Stephen E Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J Kelly of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Washington, DC. Field Office.

“Ms. Quansah’s embezzlement scheme to steal from her employer’s customer bank accounts was illegal, and her act of deliberately underreporting her embezzlement income on her federal tax returns is unlawful,” said Thomas J Kelly, Special Agent in Charge, IRS-Criminal Investigation, Washington DC Field Office. “IRS-Criminal Investigation will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to bring to justice those that abuse their positions of trust and steal from innocent victims. Today’s sentencing is a reminder that there are detrimental consequences for this type of criminal behavior.” According to her plea, from November 2010 to July 2012, Quansah used her position as a teller coordinator at a bank to fraudulently withdraw funds from customers’ accounts and fail to deposit customer funds.

Specifically, on at least 100 occasions, Quansah removed cash from cash deposits made by a restaurant at an ATM, stealing a total of $35,696.29. On December 28, 2010, she withdrew $10,000 from the account of an elderly woman, returning the money from funds drawn off her teller vault only after the customer complained to bank officials about the unauthorized withdrawal. On five occasions from December 2010 to April 2011, Quansah withdrew a total of $11,550 from another elderly woman’s account, falsely noting that the fraudulent withdrawals were done at the customer’s request. In February 2011, the daughter of a third elderly woman presented savings bonds to Quansah to redeem and deposit the proceeds into the elderly mother’s account.

Quansah told the daughter that she needed to leave the bonds with her so that Quansah could redeem them over the next few months. Quansah, however, deposited only a portion of the proceeds of the bonds into the customer’s account, stealing at least $9,975.48. Similarly, in September 2011, Quansah was asked to redeem savings bonds valued at $25,179.48 and deposit the proceeds into another elderly woman’s account, but Quansah deposited only $13,342.92, retaining the remainder for her own benefit. On nine occasions from September 2011 to March 2012, Quansah stole a total of $65,850 from an elderly couple’s account, again falsely noting that the withdrawals were made at the couple’s request.

After the elderly man complained to bank officials about these unauthorized withdrawals, Quansah refunded the account using funds drawn off of a friend’s line of credit. About an hour later, Quansah debited her teller vault to repay her friend’s line of credit. On August 1, 2012, the bank made a surprise cash audit of Quansah’s cash drawer and teller vault which revealed a shortage of $87,900. Quansah admitted to taking the money.

The total amount Quansah embezzled was $144,908.33. She did not report any of the embezzled funds to the IRS on her tax returns and thus owed between $30,000 and $80,000 for underreporting her income. Today’s announcement is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF), which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 United States attorneys’ offices, and state and local partners, it is the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory, and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud.

Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state, and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions, and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov. United States Attorney Rod J Rosenstein thanked the FBI and IRS-Criminal Investigation for their work in the investigation.

Mr Rosenstein praised Assistant United States Attorneys Christen A Sproule and Kelly O'Connell Hayes, who prosecuted the case.

Former loan manager arrested on felony racketeering charge in California

A former manager of Noble Finance was arrested on several felony charges Thursday. Police say Jennifer Echavarria, 26, of Carlsbad, is suspected of pocketing money deposited by as many as 35 customers of Noble Finance, where she worked as the loan manager.

Echavarria was arrested Thursday night at her home on one count of felony racketeering, 20 counts of forgery, five counts of fraud and 30 counts of embezzlement. Echavarria has been remanded to the Eddy County Detention Center with bond set at $50,000.

Carlsbad Police Department began an investigation in July in response to accusations of fraud and embezzlement after an internal audit revealed discrepancies in customer accounts.

According to the police department, 35 victims have been identified and investigators expect more to come forward.

Echavarria is suspected of pocketing cash deposits and generating unauthorized loans in customers' names during the months of June and July. It is believed she embezzled more than $7,000 of customer funds, and she issued them hand-written receipts.

Echavarria did not offer a statement to Carlsbad police detectives after her arrest. She is being represented by the Boyea Law Firm.

Anyone who believes they may have been a victim should contact Crime Stoppers of Eddy County

Bank employee arrested for embezzlement; faces up to 10 years in prison in Mississippi

An Oktibbeha County bank employee has been arrested for embezzling from her employer, according to Attorney General Jim Hood.

Ashley Smith, 28, of Columbus, was arrested by investigators with the Attorney General’s Public Integrity Division following indictment by an Oktibbeha County grand jury on one count of embezzlement.  The indictment charges Smith with embezzling over $30,000 while working for Cadence Bank in Starkville.

Smith was booked into the Oktibbeha County jail and released on bond. If convicted, she faces up to 10 years in prison.

Mason City woman charged with Northwood bank embezzlement

A former employee of Northwood State Bank has been charged in federal court with embezzling $69,000 from the bank.

Margaret Marie Sheese, 56, Mason City, is charged with one count of embezzlement by a bank employee.

According to a court document from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, between Oct. 3, 2011 and Jan. 15, 2013, Sheese fraudulently withdrew money from the bank for her own purposes.

Sheese will appear in federal court in Cedar Rapids on Aug. 16.

 A 53-year-old Mason City woman faces up to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to embezzling nearly $70,000 from the bank where she worked.

Officials say Margaret Marie "Peggy" Sheese pleaded guilty Friday in federal court in Cedar Rapids to one count of embezzlement.

In a plea agreement, Sheese admitted to stealing $69,200 from Northwood State Bank in Mason City between about October 2011 and January while she was a teller at the bank.

Authorities say Sheese made 29 secret withdrawals from accounts belonging to a particular bank customer. Officials say she altered the bank's records so that the customer's bank statements were sent to a post office box belonging to Sheese.

Sheese also stole $2,000 in cash from the bank in January.

Ex-Bank of Oswego, Oregon exec fights fraud charges

A former Bank of Oswego executive is facing charges in both state and federal courts.

Geoffrey S. Walsh is fighting criminal charges of wire fraud, engaging in monetary transactions with criminally derived property and making false statements on a loan application. He was indicted July 16 in U.S. District Court on allegations that he defrauded an investor starting in May 2012, right after he lost his job as vice president of business development and lending services at The Bank of Oswego.

The offenses carry maximum penalties of 20 to 30 years in prison, according to court records.

According to the indictment, an investor identified as H.S. loaned Walsh $500,000 without knowing Walsh had been fired and without knowing the money would be used for personal expenses rather than business purposes. Walsh allegedly said he would use the money to invest in the purchase of two condominiums, which he put up as collateral, when he actually already owned the condos and was in the process of selling them. He reportedly still owes the investor $200,000 as well as interest and penalties on the loan.

The indictment also accuses Walsh of making false statements on a loan application for bank customers as early as 2007, when he worked at the Lake Oswego branch of Golf Savings Bank, now Sterling Savings Bank.

The Bank of Oswego, meanwhile, is suing Walsh in Clackamas County Circuit Court.

The bank has accused Walsh of misappropriating trade secrets and is seeking an estimated $600,000 in damages.

According to the civil suit filed July 24, Walsh in September 2010 recommended the bank extend a $1.7 million line of credit to a trust overseen by Martin Kehoe for business investment purposes and operating expenses of two companies. The complaint alleges Kehoe, more commonly known as a prominent area real estate developer, used the money to make loans to existing customers of the bank — borrowing which could overextend those customers and put the bank’s loans at risk of default — and contends Walsh received loans from Kehoe’s companies. The line of credit’s maturity date was extended twice, through 2012.

The lawsuit also alleges Walsh and another former executive, Diana Yates, who resigned her position as executive vice president and chief financial officer in March 2012, kept bank clients’ confidential information to use for later financial and professional gain.

Walsh was fired May 2, 2012, because of “unacceptable banking practices,” according to the complaint, which includes excerpts from bank emails uncovered after Walsh was fired.

In one email sent to Walsh in April 2012, Kehoe said some of the bank’s customers who borrowed money from Onboard Capital, one of his companies, were failing to make payments on the hard-money loans and pushed for Walsh to either take properties backing those loans and immediately sell them, to provide the customers with alternative financing or to “squeeze them to pay me off.”

Kehoe said in the April email he was still making monthly payments on the credit lines but had reached an “emergency point” with the situation.

He contends he never loaned Walsh any money and Walsh simply facilitated the loans.

“We never paid him a fee, nor did he borrow money from us,” Kehoe said.

He said bank executives were aware he would use the line of credit to make hard-money loans. In addition, he contends the bank’s president and chief executive officer, Dan Heine, asked him to alter a financial statement to recategorize the types of loans he’d received.

Eventually, Kehoe said, “We paid off our credit lines and severed our relationship to the bank.”

Heine said the bank has a policy to not comment on pending litigation.

An attorney representing Walsh did not respond to a call seeking comment.

Neither Kehoe nor Yates is a defendant in the civil suit. Kehoe said he plans to file his own lawsuit against the bank, likely within the next month.