Former Wells Fargo Bank Officer Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud

EUGENE, OR—Shawna Leimomi Saia, 38, former assistant branch manager of Wells Fargo Bank in Coos Bay, Oregon, pleaded guilty today to bank fraud. She is scheduled to be sentenced on July 14, 2011 before Chief U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken, and is in federal custody pending sentencing.

In August of 2010, customers at the Wells Fargo Bank located at 200 North Broadway in Coos Bay, Oregon, alleged that funds were missing from their accounts. An internal investigation determined that Saia was responsible for the theft of funds. Saia admitted that between January 17, 2008 and August 30, 2010, while employed as the assistant branch manager, she stole $626,553.17 from multiple customer accounts. She also admitted a number of facts that will enhance 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 in the process.

In pleading guilty, Saia also consented to the forfeiture of 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 maximum statutory penalty for bank fraud is a 30-year term of imprisonment and a $1,000,000 fine, followed by a five-year term of supervised release.

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