A US regulator says a former bank teller stole tens of thousands of dollars from two elderly customers and then tried to blame it on them.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) says Hailee T. Ray illegally moved money from the elderly customers’ account when working as a teller at Herring Bank in Amarillo, Texas.
“Between November 15th, 2021, and December 30th, 2021, respondent performed nine separate cash withdrawal transactions from an account owned by two elderly customers.”
The transactions totaled $39,950.
When the elderly customers noticed on January 12th, 2022 that there were unauthorized transactions on their account, they contacted the bank. The bank investigated the matter and discovered Ray was behind the missing funds.
When asked about the transactions, Ray said the elderly customers themselves made the withdrawals via the bank’s drive-thru service. However, when the bank reviewed the security footage it showed no cars were present in the drive-thru lane at the time of the transactions.
On January 21st, 2022, the bank refunded the stolen funds. Ray was fired from the bank on January 25th, 2022, and in March 2022 the ex-bank teller was criminally charged for the theft.
In August 2023, Ray pleaded guilty to the second-degree felony charge of theft greater than $30,000, less than $150,000, and the third-degree felony charge of exploitation of the elderly.
The FDIC has issued an order prohibiting Ray from ever working again at a bank and assessed a $35,000 civil penalty for the crime.
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