Lawton Woman Sentenced to 33 Months in Prison for Large-Scale ATM Theft

OKLAHOMA CITY—Maria Estelle Martin, 48, of Lawton, was sentenced today to 33 months in prison for embezzling cash from a credit institution, announced Sanford C. Coats, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

According to court records, Martin worked as an armed security guard for a security company that serviced Lawton-area ATMs for local banks and credit unions. Her duties included replenishing ATMs with cash from the financial institutions’ vaults. In late 2011 and early 2012, Martin embezzled cash by taking it from the vaults and keeping it rather than using it to replenish the ATMs. Martin gambled away the stolen money through frequent visits to Lawton-area Indian casinos, where she would sometimes put over $70,000 into a single slot machine.

At today’s sentencing, United States District Judge Robin J. Cauthron sentenced Martin to serve 33 months in federal prison. Upon her release from prison, Martin will be on supervised release for five years and will be required to pay $847,942.50 in restitution to the corporate victims of her theft.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Lawton Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brandon Hale and Chris M. Stephens.