Thieves who want to rob banks often have to come up with elaborate schemes to steal money. Robbing banks may also involve working with a group of armed robbers with get-away vehicles who do thorough planning to commit the crime.
A bank teller in Texas, however, did not have to resort to using guns and wearing mask to steal money from the bank where she used to work. She managed to get away with over a million dollars for a decade without having to hide her identity. All it took her was essentially some guts to do the crime under the nose of her colleagues.
Unfortunately, the bank teller, Jill Marie Myers, ran out of luck and now faces 30 years in prison after her fraudulent scheme was eventually caught.
$1.25 Million In Stolen Money
Forty-two-year-old Myers of McAllen, Texas, who prosecutors said stole $1.25 million over 10 years from the bank where she worked, was the head teller at a branch of First National Bank in Edinburg, Texas. Her duties included tallying up the cash on hand and recording the amount in the general ledger of the bank every day.
Fraudulent Scheme Undetected By Bank For 10 Years
Her job and access to records made it easy for Myers to steal money from the bank. One likely reason why the scheme was not caught earlier is that it involved gradual stealing of relatively small amounts. She also covered up the theft by creating fraudulent entries in the records.
Prosecutors said that over a period of 10 years, Myers systematically falsified the entries stealing small denominations every day, which added up to about $10,000 of stolen money every month. The fraudulent scheme occurred between June 2004 and June 2014.
"From approximately June 2004 until June 2014, U.S. currency belonging to the bank began to disappear from the vault at an average of $10,000 per month," the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement. "Myers admitted she created fraudulent entries in bank records in order to conceal theft of $1.25 million in U.S. currency."
How The Fraudulent Scheme Was Caught
First National Bank uncovered the scheme when it was bought out by PlainsCapital Bank and regulators needed to audit the branch's books. Myers later pleaded guilty in a federal district in Texas to falsifying the bank's records.
The charge comes with a sentence of up to 30 years in prison and/or a fine of $ 1 million. U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson said that Myers, who is free on bond pending sentencing in April, agreed to pay back some of the stolen money.
Another Case Of A Bank Employee Caught Doing Unauthorized Transactions
The case of a bank employee robbing from a bank may raise security concern particularly among bank clients. It is not the first time that bank employee has been caught doing fraudulent schemes at the bank though. In 2013, an employee of the Progressive Home Federal Savings and Loan Association in Pittsburgh was fired for using the bank's computer systems to make unauthorized withdrawals and deposits.
