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Teller allegedly stole thousands from customers at Peabody bank

E-mail|Link|Comments () June 4, 2009 07:50 PM

By Jenna Nierstedt, Globe Correspondent

A Bank of America teller was charged today with a fraud scheme that stole nearly $300,000 from customers of the bank’s Peabody branch, federal prosecutors said.

Jeffrey C. Gautreaux, 25, of Peabody, was indicted in federal court on 17 counts of bank fraud, one count of access device fraud, and two counts of aggravated identity theft for a scheme executed from about July 2005 to June 2006, Acting US Attorney Michael K. Loucks said in a statement.

Employed as a teller at the bank’s Peabody branch on Andover Street from November 2004 to February 2006, Gautreaux used his position to gain access to the accounts and personal identification of customers who held funds on deposit with the bank, Loucks said.

Gautreaux agreed to sell the customers’ account information to other individuals who then used the information to make unauthorized withdrawals from customers' accounts, according to the indictment.

Gautreaux then shared in the proceeds, about $270,000, with those individuals, the indictment said.

The unauthorized withdrawals from customers' accounts ranged in amounts from $2,800 to $38,100 and affected customers from Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New Hampshire, the indictment charged.

If convicted on the charges, Gautreaux faces up to 30 years imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release and a $1 million fine on each count of bank fraud; 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 for the access device fraud charge; and two years imprisonment to be served consecutively with any other sentence imposed for aggravated identity theft, Loucks said.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Bank of America.
A spokeswoman for Bank of America said the organization was not available for comment.