Former Employee of New Milford Bank Who Stole From Customer CD Accounts Is Sentenced

Nora R. Dannehy, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that BETTY A. PACOCHA, 76, of Kent, was sentenced today United States District Judge Mark R. Kravitz in New Haven to one day of imprisonment, time served, and five years of supervised release, for engaging in a 30-year scheme to steal from bank customer CD accounts. Judge Kravitz also ordered PACOCHA to pay a fine in the amount of $250,000 and to perform 300 hours of community service. On July 21, 2009, PACOCHA pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud.

According to court documents and statements made in court, from approximately 1961 to 2006, PACOCHA was employed in various positions at New Mil Bank, located at 19 Main Street in New Milford. Over the years, PACOCHA was employed as a teller, branch manager, vice president and compliance officer and, finally, executive vice president and corporate secretary of New Mil Bank. She then continued as an employee of the Bank for several weeks after New Mil Bank merged with Webster Bank in October 2006. In her various capacities, PACOCHA had access to information pertaining to the records and accounts of customers who maintained certificate of deposits (“CDs”) at that branch location.

PACOCHA has admitted that, over the course of approximately 30 years, she defrauded the Bank by removing funds from customer CD accounts and converting the funds to her own use. PACOCHA converted funds from the accounts of customers with CDs, by either completely closing the CDs or by reducing them in value. PACOCHA kept detailed records of her activities so that she would be able to track when CDs were nearing maturity and then restore their balances with funds from other accounts to perpetuate the scheme. When each reduced or previously closed CD matured or was due to mature, and the respective customers were expecting to have their funds available, PACOCHA would shift funds from other CDs that were not yet mature to cover the shortfalls on the presently-mature CDs. On some occasions, PACOCHA reimbursed accounts with funds from her own bank account to cover the shortfall and prevent discovery of the fraud scheme.

Through this scheme, PACOCHA defrauded New Mill Bank/Webster Bank of approximately $722,000.

PACOCHA has made full restitution to the Bank using funds from her retirement pension.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael S. McGarry, with the assistance of legal inter David Morrell.