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Former branch manager Henry Martin Hill stole more than $432,000 from the Greater Iowa Credit Union and used his position of trust to conceal his crime for eight years.
Federal prosecutors on Wednesday asked U.S. District Court Judge Stephanie M. Rose in Des Moines to sentence Hill to two years in prison. They argued in court documents that it would send a "strong message that if you abuse the trust placed in you by others, if you lie and mislead to steal money, you will face a federal prison sentence."
Instead, Judge Rose sentenced Hill to time-served, which means he won't be serving any time in prison. The federal judge ordered Hill to five years of supervised release and to pay restitution of $432,763.
It was unclear whether Hill spent any time in jail based on a review of federal court documents. However, one court document indicated Hill was released on bond following his initial court appearance in June.
Although basic information about Hill's sentencing was posted on the federal docket, a "sealed judgement" document was filed and is not open to public inspection.
Hill's attorney, Gary Dickey in Des Moines, said he was not authorized to comment on the case.
Federal prosecutors acknowledged this case was unusual because Hill confessed his crime to police before his fraud was discovered. He did this because he thought it was only a matter of time before he would be caught, according to court records.
"While the government considers Defendant's candor (although he initially minimized his conduct) a mitigating factor, a prison sentence is still warranted in this matter," prosecutors said.
They also noted in court documents that Hill was convicted of driving under the influence when he was a branch manager.
"While under court supervision, he still systematically stole money from his employer," prosecutors said. "His fraudulent course of conduct took place over years and involved hundreds of individual transactions. This was not a one-time lapse in judgment, but a coordinated and planned scheme to steal money from the very credit union where he worked."
Hill was indicted in June 2020 with four felony counts of bank fraud. By September, he agreed to plead guilty to one felony count of bank fraud. In exchange, prosecutors dropped the other three bank fraud charges.
In 2011, Hill became a manager of the credit union's Southgate branch and began stealing cash from the vault starting in 2012. His theft continued through September 2019, according to court documents. He used the funds to pay for personal expenses.
Hill admitted that he took $20, $50 and $100 bills from banded cash stacks in the vault and replaced the stolen bills with $1 and $5 bills to make the stacks appear untampered.
In violation of the credit union's policy, Hill audited the vault alone and falsely reported that the vault cash had been audited.
He also stole money from the branch's float drawer and withdrew funds from members' accounts to conceal the vault's cash shortages during annual audits, according to court documents.
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