A Mesa woman who stole $655,000 from the bank she supervised has received her sentence.
On June 10, a federal judge sentenced 35-year-old Brooke McDonough, formerly Brooke Taylor, to four years in prison.
McDonough worked as a branch manager for an anonymous East Valley bank from June 2021 to February 2022, during which time she stole cash from ATMs and the bank’s vault.
McDonough also adjusted the statistics on the monthly audits to conceal the increasing cash shortage.
Investigators learned about the conspiracy after McDonough quit. Three further bank employees were placed on administrative leave.
To dodge the legal need to report deposits over $10,000, McDonough utilized several ATMs at different banks to deposit smaller sums of cash.
A jury found McDonough guilty of embezzlement by a bank employee, as well as structuring and transactional money laundering.
“Embezzlement is not a victimless crime,” U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine stated in an email. “McDonough’s acts caused significant injury to her employer, the integrity of the financial system, and innocent coworkers whose careers were jeopardized by her actions. The punishment she received reflects the seriousness of her actions.”
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