Pamela Kay Cobb, Former Bank Of America Employee, Sentenced To Prison For Stealing Millions

Pamela Kay Cobb, 30, a former Bank of America branch manager, was sentenced on Wednesday to five and a quarter years in prison for stealing more than $2 million from customers, according to a statement released by the office of U.S. Attorney Sarah Saldaña. Cobb also was ordered to pay more than $1.1 million back to her victims.

Bank of America's branch in River Oaks, Tex., which Cobb managed, lost more than $1 million to her nine-year scheme, according to Saldaña's press release. Cobb, who is also known as Pamela Crabb and Pamela Engles, used the money to pay for vacations, clothes, jewelry and land purchases.

According to the press release, Cobb filed fraudulent withdrawal slips and forged customers' signatures; she also withdrew cash through her tellers. She never stole more than $10,000, in order to avoid federal reporting requirements.

Cobb pleaded guilty to the federal government's charges in March of 2012.

In order to maintain her customers' trust, Cobb targeted customers that she had known for a while; if a customer complained about a fraudulent transaction, she refunded the money immediately with money stolen from other customers' accounts.

Cobb is not the only ex-employee that has been accused of stealing money from customers. Domeen Flowers, a former IRS employee, was arrested in July for allegedly stealing taxpayers' identities and using them to apply fraudulently for credit cards.

(Hat tip: Courthouse News.)