Credit Union Head Teller Charged with Embezzling Funds, Falsifying Records
| U.S. Attorney’s Office March 01, 2011 |
PITTSBURGH—A resident of Coraopolis, Pennsylvania has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of bank embezzlement and false entry in financial institution records, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
The 16-count indictment named Shirley A. Howl, 55, as the sole defendant.
According to the indictment, Howl was the head teller for the West-Aircomm Federal Credit Union (FCU). Howl is charged with embezzling approximately $400,000 from West-Aircomm FCU from Aug. 7, 2007, through Nov. 9, 2009. Howl is also charged with multiple counts of falsifying records at the FCU to conceal the defalcations.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not more than 480 years in prison, a fine of $16,000,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense(s) and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Paul E. Hull is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.
An indictment or information is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.