Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Former Connecticut Municipal Councilman Pleads Guilty To Embezzling More Than $100K

From WTNH Ch. 8 on 11/24/2014:

A former West Haven City Councilman admitted Monday to stealing more than $100,000 in an embezzlement scheme.

Stephen DeCrescenzo, 37, of West Haven, waived his right to an indictment and plead guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of wire fraud stemming from an embezzlement scheme.

According to court documents, DeCrescenzo was working as a personal banker at JP Morgan Chase in New Canaan. Between September of 2008 and November of 2011, DeCrescenzo embezzled $106,028 in funds from customer accounts by transferring the funds into a separate account to which he had access.

As part of the deception, DeCrescenzo disguised numerous withdrawals from the accounts as authorized cash withdrawals by customers when, in fact, he had stolen the money, officials said. DeCrescenzo also wired funds stolen from a customer account into another bank account of his own.

DeCrescenzo faces up to 20 years in prison. He is free on $50,000 bond. He is due back in court for sentencing on February 17, 2015.

DeCrescenzo, who was a member of the West Haven City Council, resigned from the Council on Monday.


Update (2/17/2015): DeCrescenzo was sentenced to three years of probation.  He reportedly blamed his actions on gambling.  Read an update of the story here.

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