Juneau Man Pleads Guilty to Bank and Credit Union Theft

JUNEAU – A Juneau man pleaded guilty to charges of Theft, Embezzlement, and Misapplication of Funds by a Person Connected in a Capacity with a Bank and Credit Union.

According to court documents, Austin Nolan Dwight Rutherford, 29, of Juneau plead guilty to Bank and Credit Union Theft.  Between January 21, 2019, and March 2022, Rutherford was an armed transport guard for Axiom Armored Transport (Axiom), which provided armed transportation of U.S. Currency for U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo Bank, Key Bank, NuVision Credit Union, and Alaska USA Federal Credit Union and their customers Automatic Teller Machines (ATM). Rutherford started to steal funds when he was transferred to Axiom’s Juneau branch in March 2020 through May 2022.  Rutherford was terminated March of 2022 but continued to make cash deposits into his bank accounts through May 2022 that were above and beyond any legitimate sources identified during the investigation. An internal audit determined that Rutherford stole a total of $579,400.00 in bank and credit union funds.

Rutherford is scheduled to be sentenced on August 17, 2023 and faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, a fine of $1,000,000.00, and up to life on supervised release. Rutherford has agreed to pay restitution in the amount of $579,400.00 as part of his guilty plea. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker of the District of Alaska made the announcement.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Schmidt is prosecuting the case.

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