Shepherd Woman Admits Embezzling from Bank

A longtime employee of the Bank of San Jacinto County in Coldspring has pleaded guilty to embezzling thousands of dollars from the bank over a period of years.  She could be sent to prison for a long time.

Federal prosecutors say 56 year old Rebecca A. Herrod of Shepherd was bookkeeping supervisor at The Bank of San Jacinto County, and she used her position to embezzle $131,500 from 2008 until she was caught and fired last year.  They say she did it by taking money out of customers' accounts and moving it into her personal account.

To replenish the account she debited, Herrod would debit another customer’s account and credit it to the first customer’s account, continually floating the increasing amounts of false debits.

Herrod's scheme unraveled the day a customer called the bank to ask about all the debits and credits in his account.  Normally, as bookkeeping supervisor, Herrod was able to explain away the unusual entries. That day however, she was out of the bank and another bank official took the call. He couldn't explain the unusual entries, and prosecutors say that's when Herrod's shell game became apparent.

Under a plea bargain, Herrod has agreed to pay back all the money she stole.  She'll be sentenced in September, and she could be sent to a federal prison for a maximum of 30 years, and be fined up a million dollars.

via East Texas News - Polk County Publishing Company.