Amherst Woman Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud

          BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Amanda Hollmer, 36, of Amherst, N.Y., pleaded guilty to bank fraud before U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Arcara. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, a fine of $1,000,000 or both.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell T. Ippolito, Jr., who is handling the prosecution, stated that Hollmer executed what is sometimes referred to as a “check kiting” scheme between December 2009 and December 2010 which defrauded various financial institutions. Specifically, the defendant opened up various checking accounts at local banks and deposited checks from other checking accounts that either had no funds or had been closed.  By then withdrawing cash from the institution before the bank could learn of the insufficient funds underlying the deposit, Hollmer stole funds, or attempted to steal funds from at least seven different financial institutions. In total, the financial institutions incurred a total loss of $27,552.

The plea is the result of an investigation by the United States Secret Service, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Tracy Gast.