(Photo: MGN)BALTIMORE- A bank vice president on Maryland's Eastern Shore has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $600,000 from the institution.
Fifty-six-year-old Wanda Henderson of Westover entered the plea in U.S. District Court in Baltimore on Thursday. She faces a maximum of 30 years in prison at sentencing Feb. 7.
According to her plea agreement, Henderson was vice president and executive assistant to the president of Hebron Savings Bank and had access to the bank's vault, the computer system and the bank's loan files.
Prosecutors said that beginning in approximately 2005, and continuing until April 2011, Henderson embezzled money from the bank by creating fraudulent loan applications and fraudulent loan and line of credit accounts at the bank in her name and in the names of family members.
Prosecutors added that Henderson forged the signatures of various bank officials, including the president, as the approving loan officer on the applications. Henderson also forged the initials of other bank employees on paperwork that authorized the transfer of the loan proceeds into Henderson's personal checking account or the checking account of a family member, court records show.
According to prosecutors, Henderson concealed the fraudulent loans from bank officials by manipulating and changing data in the bank records.
Court documents show that as the loans became due, Henderson obtained new fraudulent loans by again creating accounts in the bank computer system and forging approval signatures of other bank officials. By using the proceeds from the new loans to pay off the previous loans, prosecutors said Henderson was able to continue the scheme until April 2011.
Prosecutors said Henderson obtained 20 fraudulent loans for herself or for members of her family by forging signatures and manipulating bank records. The total unpaid principal balance on the fraudulent loans is $682,236.77 and of that amount, $457,351.71 has gone into default.
Henderson faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the amount of gain or loss caused by the offense conduct, whichever is greater. U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander has scheduled sentencing for Feb. 7, 2013, at 2 p.m.
