Former CU Teller Admits to ATM Embezzlement Scheme
Feds say the teller figured out how to create money for herself that did not exist.
Federal prosecutors say a former teller created money for herself that did not exist, which was part of her scheme that enabled her to embezzle more than $80,000 from an Alabama credit union over three years.
Brianna Bates Gurley, who worked for the $289 million AOD Federal Credit Union in Oxford, Ala., agreed to plead guilty to embezzlement, according to a plea agreement filed last week in U.S. District Court in Birmingham.
In 2017, AOD noticed that some deposits being counted from its Oxford branch ATM did not match with the log that listed the deposits in the ATM. Moreover, it was discovered that money was missing from the credit union. AOD hired an auditor who determined Gurley embezzled $88,432 from January 2014 to July 2017, according to court documents.
In addition to allegedly stealing cash from the ATM, the auditor found Gurley “created money for herself that did not exist,” federal prosecutors wrote in court documents.
Specifically, the AOD audit discovered low-dollar amount deposits into the Oxford branch’s ATM that were not linked to an AOD account number or a member’s name. The credit union auditor also discovered that these low-dollar deposits were credited to Gurley’s AOD account for $400 to $500.
In order to credit a transaction via an ATM deposit, the AOD system had to show that a deposit had been made. However, once the ATM deposit was created on the AOD system, Gurley allegedly manipulated that entry to credit her account for hundreds of extra dollars. In this way, the former teller was able to “create” money electronically that she later used to pay her bills and withdraw cash, according to federal prosecutors.
In August 2017, when Gurley was questioned by police investigators and FBI agents, she admitted to embezzling the funds.
Gurley sentencing hearing has not been scheduled.