Debora Huff, 55, of Jamestown, Tennessee, was sentenced yesterday by Chief U.S. District Judge Kevin H. Sharp, to serve 15 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for making false entries in a bank record, announced David Rivera, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee. Chief Judge Sharp also ordered Huff to pay restitution to First Volunteer Bank in the amount of $578,000.

Huff was initially charged in March 2015 and pleaded guilty to the charge on June 1, 2015.

During the plea hearing, Huff admitted to having embezzled $578,000 from her employer, First Volunteer Bank, beginning in approximately 2000, when Huff was elevated to Head Teller and Vault Teller for the bank. Huff admitted that she embezzled money at least twice each month, beginning in 2000 and continuing until November 20, 2014, when First Volunteer Bank conducted an unannounced cash audit that uncovered her embezzlement. Huff also admitted that during the unannounced audit, she entered into the bank’s computer system and created two cash out tickets in the amount of $289,000 each. After the cash count was over, Huff went back into the system and prepared two cash-in tickets, each in the amount of $289,000, in an effort to conceal the fact that she had been embezzling money from First Volunteer Bank for approximately fourteen years.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Sandra G. Moses represented the government.