Red Bluff Woman Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud

SACRAMENTO, CA—United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that Laura Vannoy, 58, of Red Bluff, pleaded guilty today to two counts of bank fraud.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Matthew G. Morris is prosecuting the case.

According to the plea agreement, between April 2006 and October 2010, Vannoy stole checks that were payable to her employer, a bank, and deposited the checks into her personal bank account. She used the money for her personal expenses. So that the missing checks would not be noticed, she altered the amounts due on the employer’s small business accounting software. As a result of the fraud, she obtained $127,033.

Vannoy is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. on June 15, 2012 at 9:00 a.m. The maximum statutory penalty for a violation of bank fraud is 30 years in prison or a $1 million fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.