Two tellers and a head cashier at a Walnut Ridge bank worked together in secret for 10 years to steal nearly $4 million in cash from the vault, they admitted Tuesday and Wednesday to a federal judge in Little Rock.
The three women waived an opportunity to have the allegations against them reviewed by a federal grand jury, instead pleading guilty to bank-fraud conspiracy charges filed in open court, for which each expects to serve 31/2 to nearly five years in prison and pay $1,317,000 in restitution.
U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker will sentence them at a later date, after reviewing a presentence report that has yet to be prepared. If she agrees with the negotiated sentences, she will accept their pleas then. If she doesn't accept the proposed sentence range, the women can withdraw their pleas and go to trial. If convicted by a jury, the crime is punishable by up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.
The women are Brenda Montgomery, 57, of Walnut Ridge, who was a teller at the Walnut Ridge branch of First National Bank of Lawrence County; Peggy Sutton, 61, of Biggers, who was the head teller; and Cindy Tate, 57, of Walnut Ridge, who was the head cashier.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Angela Jegley told Baker that the three women's duties put them collectively in charge of reconciling cash in the teller drawer and in the vault. Jegley said they conspired to take money out of the vault while covering up the thefts by coordinating records that each was responsible for maintaining.
Jegley said the bank always gave Tate advance notice of internal audits, and before the auditors arrived, she arranged with the other two women to carry cash in from other branches or other banks to cover the shortages in the vault. Once the audit was complete, the women saw to it that the borrowed cash was returned to the other branches or banks, she said.
Jegley said that uncovering the case took a person unfamiliar with the women's routines, but suspicious of Tate's refusal to let anyone else access the women's records, to begin monitoring the emails of the three women. The women's email exchanges led the person to become certain that something criminal was going on, and the person notified the bank manager, who arranged for a surprise cash count.
None of the women knew the cash count was going to occur, and none were allowed to participate in it, Jegley said.
She said that when confronted with the cash shortage in the vault, one of the women confessed, and a forensic audit later confirmed the amount taken. The audit found that beginning sometime in 2005, through April 2015, the total amount stolen from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.-insured bank was $3,953,325.
In consideration for each woman's guilty plea, Jegley said, the government agreed that each would be responsible for repaying $1,317,000.
Because the amount each took exceeded $1 million and because each veteran employee abused a position of trust to carry out the crime, the women agreed to plead guilty in exchange for a sentence within Level 22 or Level 23 of the federal sentencing guidelines. For defendants with no or negligible criminal history, Level 22 crimes are punishable by 41-51 months, and Level 23 offenses by 46 to 57 months.
That makes each woman eligible for 41 to 57 months in federal prison, where parole isn't available but sentences can be shortened by a few weeks or months for those who accumulate good-time credit for good behavior.
The recommended penalty ranges are higher for defendants who fall in a higher criminal history category, which is determined through the presentence investigation.
In court Wednesday with defense attorney Tim Dudley of Little Rock, Sutton spoke only to acknowledge that Jegley's rendition of the facts was accurate and, when asked how she pleaded, to reply, "Guilty, your honor."
On Tuesday, Baker took pleas from Montgomery, who was represented by attorney Bill James of Little Rock, and Tate, who was represented by attorney Jeff Rosenzweig of Little Rock.
Baker allowed the women to remain free on bond, under certain conditions, until their sentencing hearings, which are expected to occur in three or four months.
Metro on 05/12/2016