October 29, 2007

DOUGLAS FLETCHER IMPRISONED FOR BANK EMBEZZLEMENT

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that Douglas Fletcher, 39, of Vernon, was sentenced today in United States District Court in Burlington to 21 months of imprisonment following his guilty plea to a charge of bank fraud. Chief Judge William K. Sessions III also ordered Fletcher to serve five years of supervised release after he completes his prison term and pay restitution totaling $236,566.47. The court ordered that Fletcher surrender to the Federal Bureau of Prisons to begin serving his sentence on January 8, 2008.

According to court records, Fletcher was the Brattleboro branch manager of Merchants Bank until his termination on March 20, 2007. In his guilty plea last June, Fletcher admitted that beginning in about 2000 and continuing up to the time of his firing, he embezzled sums of money from the bank’s vault and the ATM machine, and covered up the thefts with falsified audit reports. Fletcher’s embezzlement was uncovered by the bank this past March during an internal audit. As a result, the bank lost $236,566.47.

During the investigation, it was learned that Fletcher, in his capacity as treasurer for the Brattleboro Area Affordable Housing Committee, embezzled another $50,000 from that non-profit organization. Fletcher has repaid the moneys he took from BAAHC.

This case was investigated by the Rutland Office of the FBI and the Brattleboro Police Department.

Fletcher is represented by Tom Costello. The prosecutor is Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Waples.