Former Bank Employee In Neosho CountyPleads Guilty To Embezzling More Than $180,000

WICHITA, KAN. - A former employee of a bank in Neosho County pleaded guilty Monday to embezzling more than $180,000 from the bank, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.

Sherrie Landell, 42, Erie, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement by a bank employee. In her plea, she admitted that from September 2007 to May 2013 she embezzled from Exchange State Bank.

Landell worked in the bank’s branch in St. Paul, Kan. She was responsible for maintaining the bank’s general ledger account and an account designated for accounts receivable on certificates of deposit. Money she stole included interest due on certificates of deposit. She fraudulently altered the bank’s records to conceal the crime. The shortage was discovered during a bank regulatory exam and subsequent audit by an independent accounting firm in 2013.

Sentencing is set for July 14. She faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison and a fine up to $1 million. Grissom commended the U.S. Secret Service, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Smith for their work on the case.