Five years in prison – plus another five years in supervised release – was the sentence for a a former Alabama bank executive convicted of embezzlement, according to the inspector general for the federal bank deposit insurance agency in a release dated Aug. 12.
According to the Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the Federal Bank Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) Kellie L. Johnson, 54, of Cullman, Ala., was given the sentence after pleading guilty in May to bank embezzlement.
The OIG said it investigated the case.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s (USA) Office for the Northern District of Alabama, Johnson worked for First Community Bank for approximately 25 years. She was most recently a vice president for the bank. Between July 2013 and June 2023, the USA’ office said, Johnson allegedly embezzled money from the bank’s Federal Reserve account to pay personal expenses, primarily credit card bills.
The USA said Johnson allegedly “falsified transactions to reconcile the balance of the Federal Reserve account in the bank’s general ledger and deleted her ACH transactions. Johnson also allegedly altered account statements sent by the Federal Reserve, the USA said, that she was required to provide to the bank president, auditors, and others. “The scheme ended when the bank president received a call from the Federal Reserve notifying him that the bank’s ACH account was overdrawn,” the USA said.
When asked to provide the latest account statement, Johnson allegedly presented a fraudulent statement showing a positive balance in the account.
Over the 10 years she allegedly stole money from the bank, the USA claimed, Johnson conducted approximately 273 fraudulent ACH transactions totaling more than $2.3 million. Additionally, Johnson allegedly deprived the bank of $138,185.40 in interest income to the Federal Reserve account, the prosecutors said.
Former First Community Bank Vice President Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Embezzlement Scheme
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