A former Indiana credit union manager has been sentenced to three years in federal prison after stealing more than $381,000 from customer accounts, including those belonging to elderly victims.
Teresa Palmer, 55, of Columbus, Indiana, pleaded guilty to two counts of bank fraud after prosecutors said she abused her position at Credit Union 1 to carry out hundreds of unauthorized transactions, says the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana
Palmer worked as a branch manager at a Credit Union 1 location in Columbus from 2014 until December 2022. Her position gave her access to customer accounts and allowed her to process withdrawals and cashier’s checks when transactions were authorized by account holders.
The scheme came to light in 2022 after the credit union fired Palmer for forging customer signatures on banking documents. Shortly afterward, a customer reported suspicious activity involving her father’s account.
An internal investigation allegedly uncovered that Palmer had accessed the account without permission and taken money from it. Further examination identified three additional customer accounts that had also been targeted.
According to court documents, Palmer focused on customers who were elderly or unlikely to regularly review their finances. Between January 2021 and December 2022, she used her work computer and the credit union’s banking system to make unauthorized withdrawals and use the money for herself, including gambling expenses.
Palmer also created cashier’s checks using customers’ funds and made them payable to other people. She forged signatures and endorsements on the checks, then presented them to tellers while falsely claiming the transactions had been approved by the customers.
In total, prosecutors determined that Palmer stole $381,400.05 from multiple victims, including at least one person with dementia.
Palmer was sentenced to three years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay $381,400.05 in restitution.
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