Florissant Bank Manager Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Stealing $175,000

ST. LOUIS – A former bank branch manager from Florissant, Missouri was sentenced Monday to 18 months in federal prison for stealing $175,842 from customers.

U.S. District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig also ordered Andrea Nicole Hopkins, 29, to repay the money. 

Hopkins actually took more than $328,000 from the accounts of 15 customers, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Bateman said in court Monday, but returned some of the money to earlier victims to perpetuate the scheme. Hopkins stole from the accounts of some victims multiple times, he said. Some of her victims were elderly and had a diminished ability to understand their financial affairs. Among them are two 80-year-olds, one 95-year-old and one 82-year-old, her plea agreement says.

From Feb. 20, 2020 to May 25, 2021, while manager of the Commerce Bank branch on Natural Bridge Avenue in St. Louis, Hopkins logged into customer accounts and transferred funds out into either cashier’s checks or prepaid cards, her plea says. She changed the address on some account statements, forged signatures and transferred funds among customers to try and hide the thefts. The bank has since repaid customers.

She used the money to buy a motorcycle, to pay for living expenses and to pay personal debts.

Hopkins pleaded guilty in January to four felony counts of bank fraud. 

The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle T. Bateman is prosecuting the case.