Ex-Salmon banker pleads guilty to embezzlement

Former Salmon bank employee Stefani Bennett, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday to embezzlement. She entered the plea in U.S. District Court in Pocatello.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, Bennett was an employee of the U.S. Bank in Salmon. On July 8, 2011, she withdrew $100,000 from a customer’s account and converted it to five cashier’s checks and $2,407.59 in cash.

The plea agreement states she used the money to pay personal bills and make personal purchases without authorization. Bennett admitted to other bank employees and to special FBI agents, who interviewed her at a later date, that she took the money.

Bennett faces up to 30 years imprisonment, a $1,000,000 fine and up to five years of supervised release.

She is scheduled for sentencing before U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill December 14 in Pocatello.