Melrose Man Sentenced for $375,000 Bank Fraud

BOSTON – A bank teller supervisor was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Worcester for his role in defrauding his employer out of $375,000.

Pablo Rocha, 32, of Melrose, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman to six months in prison and two years of supervised release. Rocha was also ordered to pay restitution and forfeiture of $375,000. In July 2023, Rocha pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud. 

Between July 2022 and December 2022, Rocha worked as a bank teller supervisor at a federally insured bank in Massachusetts. Rocha used his access to the bank’s vault to steal cash.  Rocha then covered his tracks by writing false entries in the bank’s records and by processing fake transactions in the electronic records system to make it appear that the cash had been shipped to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. In total, Rocha stole approximately $375,000.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Boston Division made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Markham of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit prosecuted the case.