Former Bank Employee Charged with Embezzlement

BOSTON – A former bank employee was indicted today in federal court in Worcester in connection with embezzling money from client accounts held by the bank by which she was employed.

Jessica Vargas, 34, of Athol, was indicted on one count of bank fraud and two counts of bank embezzlement. Vargas was charged by criminal complaint and arrested in March 2018.

According to the charging documents, Vargas was an employee of a federally-insured bank when she embezzled approximately $108,000 by making unauthorized cash withdrawals from customer accounts. Bank documentation showed that Vargas made unauthorized withdrawals from the accounts of various customers, including more than $53,000 from the account of an 84-year-old bank customer and almost $13,000 from the account of an 88-year-old customer.

For each count, Vargas faces a sentence of no greater than 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and a fine of $1 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Abely of Lelling’s Worcester Branch Office is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.