Banker Guilty of Embezzling More Than $175,000

JEREMY J. RAYBURN, age 35, a resident of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, pled guilty in federal court today before U.S. District Court Judge Lance M. Africk, to bank larceny, announced U.S. Attorney Jim Letten.

According to court documents, RAYBURN was employed as a personal banker at JP Morgan Chase Bank in Metairie, Louisiana, from May 1, 2006 through July 26, 2007. In this position, RAYBURN had the ability to identify accounts that were in dormant status. RAYBURN devised a scheme to override the and steal the money.

In one specific case, a customer identified as A.B. had been deceased for nearly 11 years, and RAYBURN used the customer’s dormant account as a central repository for stolen funds from other customer accounts. By making counter withdrawals and forging the customer signatures to generate cashier’s checks, RAYBURN transferred $64,404.40 from the account of a deceased customer with the initials, M.S., a transfer of $55,002.53 from customer H.B.’s account a transfer of $26,357.68 from customer C.R.’s account; and a transfer of $14,453.48 from customer D.H.’s account all to deceased customer A.B.’s account.

RAYBURN then requested that three (3) ATM cards be issued on A.B.’s account and made cash withdrawals from. During a thirty (30) day period in 2007, RAYBURN withdrew nearly $25,000 in cash from different ATM’s located in the area.

Additionally, RAYBURN sometimes used wire transfers to route money from A.B.’s account, to other accounts at other banks that RAYBURN controlled, including E-Trade. On June 6, 2008, RAYBURN transferred funds from various E-Trade accounts (funded by the customers’ stolen money) into one account, and then wired $100,000 to a JP Morgan Chase account. On June 19, 2008, RAYBURN withdrew $103,501.12 from this same JP Morgan Chase account, in the form of a cashier’s check. This cashier check was then used to pay a title company for a down payment on a home that RAYBURN purchased in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on the same day. RAYBURN embezzled approximately $178,224.80 in total.

RAYBURN faces a maximum term of imprisonment of ten (10) years, a fine of $250,000.00 and three (3) years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment. Sentencing has been scheduled for February 4, 2010. The case was investigated by the Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Jon Maestri.