BIRMINGHAM – A federal grand jury today indicted a Hoover woman for embezzling money from the bank where she worked, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Roy Sexton.

The indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges REGINA STEWART, 48, with two counts of embezzling money from Nexity Bank in Jefferson County while she was employed there. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of $45,745 from STEWART as proceeds of illegal activity.

According to the indictment, STEWART embezzled the money by fraudulently redeeming certificates of deposit held by two clients of the bank.

“Embezzlement by bank employees is a serious crime that undermines the public’s trust in the financial system,” Vance said. “That trust, and the stability of our financial institutions, must be protected,” Vance said.

The maximum sentence for embezzlement by a bank employee is 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

The Secret Service investigated this matter.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Davis A. Barlow is prosecuting the case.

This prosecution is part of President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency task force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.

Members of the public are reminded that the indictment contains only charges.  A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove a defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

 

 

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