Former Bank Employee Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement

BOSTON – A former bank employee pleaded guilty today in federal court in Worcester in connection with embezzling money from client accounts held by the bank by which she was employed.

Jessica Vargas, 35, of Athol, pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud and two counts of bank embezzlement. U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman scheduled sentencing for May 15, 2019. Vargas was charged by criminal complaint and arrested in March 2018.

Vargas was an employee of a federally-insured bank when she embezzled approximately $108,000 by making unauthorized cash withdrawals from customer accounts. Bank documentation showed that Vargas made unauthorized withdrawals from the accounts of various customers, including more than $53,000 from the account of an 84-year-old bank customer and almost $13,000 from the account of an 88-year-old customer.

For each count, Vargas faces a sentence of no greater than 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and a fine of $1 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bill Abely and Kristen Noto of Lelling’s Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.