- Key insight: A former teller supervisor in Silver Spring, Maryland was barred from working in the banking industry after she pleaded guilty to embezzling an estimated $246,000 from Sandy Spring Bank between June 2023 and July 2024.
- What's at stake: The Fed periodically issues enforcement actions against low-level bank employees for theft or embezzlement, but the amount stolen in this case is unusually large.
- Forward look: Sandy Spring Bank merged with Atlantic Union Bank in 2025, expanding Atlantic Union to $38.1 billion of assets.
The Federal Reserve Thursday barred a former bank teller manager from the industry after she pleaded guilty to embezzling an estimated $246,000 from teller cash dispenser machines over the course of a year.
The Fed formally banned Renee Nicole Brown, the former teller manager at Sandy Spring Bank in Silver Spring, Maryland, from working in the banking industry without prior board approval in connection with an embezzlement scheme that she perpetrated from June 2023 until July 2024. Brown "misappropriated approximately $246,000 from teller cash dispenser machines" over that period, according to the Fed's public notice. A bank spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
A review of Maryland judicial records indicates that Brown was sentenced to ten years in prison with all but one year suspended and five years of supervised probation upon release. A court clerk said Thursday that Brown is serving her one-year jail term at the Montgomery County Detention Center, which began when her sentencing was announced on Aug. 31.
Banking regulators routinely bar bank employees from the industry after they have been convicted of crimes related to the bank, including embezzlement and theft. A former teller at First Horizon bank was
Sandy Spring Bank
Read more:
What comes next for banks in a post-CLARITY Congress Warsh: Rising bond yields a sign of strong U.S. economy Borrowing from Federal Home Loan banks jumped 20% in 2Q State bank examiners get a playbook for inspecting AI
