REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – A former teller at Sierra Point CU was sentenced to five years in prison yesterday after pleading guilty to stealing $250,000 from 15 member accounts that she gambled away at the nearby Lucky Chance Casino blackjack house.
Marivic Uy Arano, 36, of San Francisco, stole the funds by adding an extra transaction or two to the list of ATM withdrawals from the targeted members, most of whom were elderly, then transferring the funds to her own accounts, according to Melissa McKowan, deputy district attorney for San Mateo County. Arano then kited checks between various accounts to try and cover up the scheme, said McKowan.
The scheme was discovered when one of the victims visited the credit union and questioned Arano about discrepancies in his account and was met with denials, McKowan told the Credit Union Journal yesterday. The victim then called his boss who sat on the credit union’s board and when they went to question Arano less than an hour later, she snuck out the back door and fled. She sent an email apologizing to co-workers and her family for the theft. She was arrested ten days later at her home.
