Former Wells Fargo Bank Officer Sentenced for Bank Fraud

EUGENE, OR—Shawna Leimomi Saia, 38, former assistant branch manager of Wells Fargo Bank in Coos Bay, Oregon, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken to serve a 71-month federal prison sentence for bank fraud. Saia pled guilty on May 12, 2011 and has been in federal custody since December 28, 2010. Defendant Saia lived in Coos Bay, Oregon when she committed the offense.

The case arose in August of 2010 when customers alleged funds were missing from their accounts. An internal investigation determined that Saia was responsible for the theft of funds from multiple customer accounts. In pleading guilty, Saia admitted that between January 17, 2008, and August 30, 2010, while employed as the assistant branch manager at the Wells Fargo Bank branch located at 200 North Broadway in Coos Bay, Oregon, she stole $626,553.17 from multiple customer accounts. Saia also admitted a number of facts that enhanced her sentence: (1) that she abused a position of trust; (2) that several victims of the offense were especially vulnerable due to their age and/or medical condition and that their reliance on her as a “personal banker” facilitated her theft of their funds; and (3) that she fled from arrest and became a fugitive to avoid prosecution by falsely posing as a domestic abuse victim. In doing so, she fraudulently used domestic abuse victim resources which diverted legitimate resources from actual domestic abuse victims, and caused an inordinate expenditure of law enforcement resources.

As a condition of her sentence, Saia was ordered to pay $626,553.17 in restitution to her victims. The defendant was also ordered to forfeit personal property seized during the execution of a search warrant on her residence on October 28, 2010. The property is derived from her fraud and includes one 2009 Dodge Charger, five firearms, approximately 50 designer handbags, and over 50 items of jewelry.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean B. Hoar.