California Woman Accused Of Embezzling Nearly $1.4 Million From Elderly Bank Customer Accounts

From ABC News on 5/31/13:

...authorities alleged that Linda Sue Foss bilked at least seven mostly elderly clients out of nearly $1.4 million.

According to an affidavit filed May 13 in Alameda County Superior Court, Foss, 62, of Dublin, Calif., stole from customers while she was working as a branch manager at a U.S. Bank on Mountain Boulevard, in Oakland, and then later during her tenure as manager of a nearby First Republic Bank branch. Foss had been an employee of California National Bank since 1983, which U.S. Bank acquired in 2009. She was let go from U.S. Bank in March of this year and began working at the First Republic Bank.

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According to the complaint, written by Ron Miller, of the Alameda County DA Inspector's Unit, the thefts began in May, 2010 but were discovered earlier this year after a wealth manager noticed that that his client's bank statements had been altered. The wealth manager notified U.S. Bank about his suspicions, but Foss denied giving the manager the altered documents. According to records, on Feb. 22, 2013, $225,229.15 had been deposited into a CD account in the name of an elderly woman. This money was later removed from her account "in an apparent attempt to restore the missing funds the first elder's account," the complaint states.

When asked about the transfer of funds, Foss allegedly replied that one of the clients was repaying the other for money borrowed during "the Oakland Hills fire" in 1991. But the client said she had not borrowed any money; nor had she withdrawn any money from her CD. Bank records show that on February 8, 2010, there was $972,205.22 in her CD. On February 22, 2013, there was just $353,134.23.

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Foss, who was being held on $1.6 million bail at the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, has pleaded not guilty.

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