Former Wells Fargo Bank Manager Pleads Guilty To Fraud And Theft

SAN JOSE – Sharon Lynn Shaw pleaded guilty in federal court yesterday to bank fraud and theft by bank officer, announced United States Attorney Melinda Haag and U.S. Secret Service Acting Special Agent in Charge Charles Marino.
 
In pleading guilty, Shaw, 67, of San Jose, Calif., admitted that from 2001 through 2012 that she engaged in a scheme to defraud Wells Fargo Bank while serving as a manager at that bank. Shaw admitted that she used the names, Social Security numbers, and other personal information belonging to her parents, without their knowledge or authorization, to create false and fraudulent business loan applications which she submitted to her employer Wells Fargo Bank; and a checking account in the name of her parent to receive those loan proceeds. Shaw admitted that she used her position as a bank manager to submit fraudulent applications to Wells Fargo Bank, to approve the loans, and to conceal their fraudulent nature. Shaw admitted that she was advanced credit based on those fraudulent loans and then converted the proceeds for her own personal use (including paying off the mortgage on her house) without Wells Fargo’s knowledge or authorization. Shaw also admitted that she embezzled from Wells Fargo bank a $12,800 line of credit advance in January 2010 as well as a $20,000 line of credit advance in February 2010.
 
Shaw was charged in an indictment filed in San Jose federal district court on May 21, 2014. There is no plea agreement in the case. Shaw pleaded guilty to all six counts in the indictment. 
 
After Shaw’s guilty plea, U.S. District Court Judge Beth Labson Freeman set this matter for a sentencing hearing on May 19, 2015 at 9 a.m. The maximum statutory penalty for bank fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1344, and Theft by Bank Officer, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 656, is 30 years in prison, a $1,000,000 fine, and five years of supervised release. 
 
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Fazioli and Philip Guentert are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Laurie Worthen. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Secret Service.