Bank Teller Admits Stealing Money from CD Accounts

Deirdre M. Daly, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Michelle Laudato, 35, of Farmington, waived her right to indictment and pleaded guilty today before United States Magistrate Judge Donna F. Martinez in Hartford to one count of bank fraud.

According to court documents and statements made in court, between July 2009 and June 2010, Laudato used her position as a teller supervisor at a branch of Webster Bank in Bristol to steal more than $178,000 from the CD accounts of at least 18 bank customers. Thirteen of the 18 bank customers were between the ages of 79 and 99.

As part of the scheme, Laudato sometimes withdrew funds from certain CD accounts to replace funds in the CD accounts she had previously accessed. She also withdrew funds in increments of $10,000 or less to avoid currency transaction reporting requirements.

Laudato is scheduled to be sentenced by Chief United States District Judge Alvin W. Thompson on September 6, 2013, at which time she faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years and a fine of up to $1 million.

This matter has been investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Felice M. Duffy.