Former First Tennessee Bank Employee Sentenced to Serve Three Years in Prison for Embezzlement of Funds and Tax Evasion

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – On Mar. 6, 2017, Kenneth L Miller, 37, of Greeneville, Tenn., was sentenced by the Honorable J. Ronnie Greer, U.S. District Court Judge, to serve 36 months in federal prison for embezzlement of funds and tax evasion. Upon his release from prison, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for five years. He was also ordered to pay restitution in the amounts of $844,254.79 to First Tennessee Bank (First Tennessee), $161,018.00 to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and $81,014.18 to two additional victims of his crimes, for a total of $1,086,286.97.

Miller was an employee of First Tennessee from May 2000 until February 2016. In October 2016, he pleaded guilty to an information charging him with one count of theft by a bank officer or employee and four counts of attempting to evade or defeat tax. The plea agreement on file with U.S. District Court details his scheme, which involved a variety of techniques, including: earning and then abusing the trust of various clients by telling them falsely that he would engage in financial transactions for their benefit and using his position as a manager of the bank to identify clients who he knew did not review their monthly statements and also to identify inactive accounts from which to embezzle money because he knew the owners of such accounts would be unlikely to detect the embezzlement. Upon learning of the embezzlement by Miller, First Tennessee reimbursed most of the losses to their accountholders.

Of the total amount he embezzled, Miller obtained approximately $967,573.25 for his personal use. He lost or spent most of this through online gambling on various websites and making payments on various personal consumer debts. Miller did not claim any of these funds as income on his tax returns for 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015, thus evading paying taxes in the approximate amount of $161,018.

Renae McDermott, FBI Special Agent in Charge, Knoxville Division stated, “The defendant engaged in a pattern of illegal, unauthorized transactions which violated the bank customers’ confidence and trust. Today’s sentencing sends a message that the FBI will actively investigate and pursue prosecution of persons in a position of trust and hold them accountable for their actions.”

Agencies involved in the investigation of this case include the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Assistant U.S. Attorney TJ Harker represented the United States.

###