Former Bank Employee in Crawford County Stole more than $2.5 Million from Bank

From the OFFICE OF UNITED STATES ATTORNEY BARRY GRISSOM DISTRICT OF KANSAS

WICHITA, KAN. – A former employee of a bank in Crawford County has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $2.5 million from the bank, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said. Cynthia Bright, 55, Girard, Kan., pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of bank fraud. In her plea, she admitted she stole the money over a period of 10 years while working as operations supervisor at Girard National Bank.

Bright used several different methods to steal the money. In some cases, she wrote checks on her own accounts and altered electronic bank records so the checks would clear but the money would not be taken out of her account. In other cases she removed paper checks and altered records to post checks to other accounts. She diverted funds from the bank’s accounts to her own accounts, and she wrote large counter checks to conceal losses. She is set for sentencing Sept. 15. Both parties have agreed to recommend a sentence of 70 months in federal prison and an order of restitution for the full amount of the thefts.

Grissom commended the FBI and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hart for their work on the case.