Shanice M. Mano, a former teller of the $965 million Credit Union 1 in Anchorage, Alaska will be sentenced in January after pleading guilty to embezzling more than $111,000.
Mano changed her plea from not guilty to guilty on Oct. 11 in U.S. District Count in Anchorage.
The FBI launched an investigation on July 14 after receiving a call from Lorrain Bennett, SVP of risk management at Credit Union 1. She reported that Mano allegedly embezzled funds via two bank transfers in July.
According to Mano’s plea deal documents, she set up an unauthorized online account for a credit union member.
On July 9, she transferred $10,000 from a member’s account to an account of an associate. Mano then withdrew the $10,000 in cash from the associate’s account. The associate was not identified in court documents.
The next day, Mano transferred $101,192 from the same member’s account and transferred those funds to her personal account.
Mano then had a cashier’s check drafted for $101,192, made payable to herself, and cashed it at another Credit Union 1 branch, according to court papers.
On July 11, Mano called in sick and took a trip to California with the money. She also purchased plane tickets to Las Vegas for her and several associates and paid off a car loan.
The associates were not identified in court documents.
After she was arrested by federal agents, Mano admitted to the embezzlement and returned $80,000 to Credit Union 1.
According to Mano’s plea deal documents, she agreed to pay $21,192 in restitution.
