Male Yahaira Rivera, a former assistant branch manager, pleaded guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Orlando to embezzling $258,000 from the $1.7 billion Fairwinds Credit Union in Orlando, according to federal prosecutors.
From October 5, 2010 to August 26, 2011, she admitted to stealing the cash on 16 separate occasions in amounts ranging from $2,000 to $40,000.
Each of the thefts involved cash that was supposed to be deposited into an ATM or cash that was removed from an ATM. The first 11 thefts occurred at the Orlando branch and the next five thefts happened at the Casselberry branch, according to court documents.
Rivera, who is 35 and from Orlando, used more than $44,000 as a partial payment for a Porsche.
In court papers, federal prosecutors said Rivera's thefts were discovered by employees from Fairwinds' accounting department in September 2011. The credit union hired an outside accountant to conduct a full audit, which confirmed Rivera's $258,000 embezzlement.
Rivera had been a Fairwinds CU employee for about 15 years.
By pleading guilty to one felony count of theft or embezzlement by a credit union employee, she faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison. Her sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 17.
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