Gulfport Woman Appears in Court, Charged with Federal Bank Fraud

GULFPORT, MS—Lisa Brooks, 45, of Gulfport, Mississippi, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert H. Walker today for her arraignment on a single-count indictment charging her with federal bank fraud, U.S. Attorney John Dowdy and FBI Special Agent in Charge Daniel McMullen announced today. The defendant was indicted by a federal grand jury on July 6, 2011, for embezzling money from her then-employer, Hancock Bank, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1344. If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and/or a $1,000,000 fine. Brooks’ trial is scheduled to begin in Gulfport, Mississippi, before U.S. District Chief Judge Louis Guirola, Jr., on September 6, 2011.

The indictment alleges that from October 2006 through October 2008, the Defendant, while employed with Hancock Bank as an auditor in the Recoveries Department in Long Beach, Mississippi, would receive checks through her position at Hancock Bank for collection matters which were made payable to Hancock Bank, which she would deposit into a general ledger account and prepare money orders to post to the individual charged-off accounts. However, while preparing such money orders, she would convert a portion of the amount from such checks to money orders for herself or her family members. She concealed her theft by forging her daughter’s signature on some of the money orders when depositing the funds into a joint checking account she held with her daughter at another bank.

U.S. Attorney John M. Dowdy, Jr., commended the investigative efforts of the special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Mike Hurst.

Dowdy also noted that, as in any criminal case, a person is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The charges filed merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.