Former Financial Adviser Sentenced for Bank Fraud

Vicki L. Perchinske was sentenced to four years in prison and ordered to pay restitution of at least $535,000 for her role in a bank fraud, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

Perchinske, age 52, of Canton, Ohio, previously pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud.

On or about December 8, 2004, until on or about September 9, 2010, Perchinske, then employed as a financial adviser for First Merit Bank in North Canton, Ohio, executed and attempted to execute a scheme and artifice to defraud First Merit Bank and to obtain approximately $535,017.44 from First Merit Bank by means of false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises, according to court documents.

Perchinske made various fraudulent withdrawals from First Merit Bank accounts of elderly customers without authorization. She also fraudulently submitted liquidation and distribution request forms to Allstate Life Insurance Company, AIG and Oppenheimer Funds containing forged signatures of elderly customers, and then converted the proceeds to her personal use, according to court documents.

This case was presented to the grand jury by Assistant United States Attorney Robert W. Kern and Special Assistant United States Attorney Jason Katz. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the North Canton Police Department, and First Merit Bank Corporate Security in Akron, Ohio.