Ex-Teller Sentenced to Nine Years in Prison for Armed Robbery of Utah Credit Unions

From June 2008 to June 2010, Kevin Rasband worked as a teller at Golden West Credit Union.

Seven years later, he returned to rob it.

U.S. District Court Judge Ted Stewart in Salt Lake City, Utah on Wednesday sentenced Rasband, 35, to nine years in federal prison for robbing Golden West’s Kaysville branch at gunpoint, stealing more than $23,000 from its vault in February 2017. A month later, he robbed the First Federal Credit Union branch in Farmington.

Rasband also was ordered to pay $23,300 in restitution and 36 months of supervised release following his prison sentence.

Assistant Federal Public Defendant Spencer W. Rice said Rasband worked at the credit union while attending college, earning a bachelor’s degree in accounting. He later received a master’s degree in taxation. It seemed he was carving a successful career path in financial services working as an accounting clerk, later moving up to an audit associate position before he was hired as an internal auditor for Davis County’s government.

“Mr. Rasband’s crimes in this case represent aberrant behavior from an otherwise outstanding life full of educational accomplishment, consistent employment, community service and commitment to faith and family,” Rice wrote in a sentencing memo for Judge Stewart.

But in 2014, Rasband began gambling during a training seminar in Las Vegas for his then-employer. He recalled the euphoria when he would win, and so much shame when he would lose. Even though he lost about $500, he kept on gambling and it turned into an addiction. From 2015 to 2017 he lost more than $86,000 to gambling, then lost his job as a county’s internal auditor.

“Because he was still in full addictive mode, Mr. Rasband continued to tell himself that he could earn back all of his losses if he could just come up with a big chunk of money from some source,” Rasband’s lawyer said. “He convinced himself that he was smarter than the House and that he could solve all of his problems and keep everyone from knowing the truth about him if he could just get back to the casino and win.”

That’s when Rasband decided to rob the credit union he used to work for because he knew the routines, the schedule and where the most cash would be available – in the vault.

In court documents, Rasband admitted that on Feb. 11, 2017, fully covered in black clothing, he confronted two employees at Goldenwest as they were opening the Kaysville branch.

After pointing a gun at them, he ordered them to take him to the vault. After it was opened, he ordered the employees to put money in a bag. He got away with $23,300 and lost all of it to gambling.

Again penniless, on March 29, Rasband also admitted to confronting employees at First Federal Credit Union’s Farmington branch at the time it was opening for business.

Again, dressed in black clothing and wielding a gun, he directed the employees to open the vault, but they were unable to do so. One of the employees gave Rasband money from her drawer. While he was running away, a dye pack went off. He dropped the bag with the money and also dropped the gun, which was loaded.

After investigators determined the gun was owned by Rasband, he turned himself in to police the next day.