Former Alamogordo Bank Employee Arraigned on Federal Embezzlement Charges
Defendant Allegedly Embezzled $493,686 from First National Bank of Alamogordo
| U.S. Attorney’s Office September 01, 2011 |
ALBUQUERQUE—Brisa Ramos, 30, of Newburg, Maryland, was arraigned on a 41-count indictment charging her with embezzlement and aggravated identity theft this morning in federal court in Las Cruces. Ramos entered a not guilty plea during this morning’s proceedings, and was released on a $10,000 bond and other conditions pending trial.
The indictment, which was filed on August 17, 2011, charges Ramos with 40 counts of embezzlement and one count of aggravated identity theft. It also seeks an order requiring that Ramos forfeit any property obtained as a result of her alleged criminal conduct and a money judgment in the amount of $493,686, the amount of money involved in her alleged criminal conduct. The maximum penalty for a conviction on each of the 40 embezzlement counts is 30 years’ imprisonment and a $1,000,000 fine. The maximum penalty for a conviction on the aggravated identity theft charge is two years’ imprisonment to be served consecutive to any other term of imprisonment imposed.
United States Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales said that Ramos was employed at the First National Bank of Alamogordo in Alamogordo, New Mexico (FNB) and held the position of account services supervisor at the time of the offenses charged in the indictment. According to the indictment, Ramos was employed at FNB from 1999 through September 2008, when she resigned her employment. The indictment alleges that, from October 2003 through December 2008, Ramos embezzled several hundred thousand dollars from customer accounts through the following types of transactions: (1) withdrawing cash from customer accounts; (2) causing cashier’s checks to be issued to third parties from those accounts; and (3) transferring funds from other customer accounts to the customer accounts from which she embezzled.
The case was investigated by the Roswell Resident Agency Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and is being prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant United States Attorney Richard C. Williams.