Former Citizens Bank Teller Sentenced For Embezzlement

BOSTON – A former bank teller was sentenced today for committing bank fraud in connection with her embezzlement of $377,000 from Citizens Bank.

Maria DaSilva, 54, of Smithfield, Rhode Island was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns to 27 months in prison, to be followed by 36 months of supervised release and ordered to pay $377,926 in restitution. In January 2013, DaSilva pleaded guilty to bank fraud.

From February 2008 through January 2012, while she was working as a bank teller at the North Attleboro branch of Citizens Bank, DaSilva embezzled over $375,000 from the accounts of three elderly bank customers by forging withdrawal slips on various accounts they held.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today.

The case was investigated by the Lakeville Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Sternberg of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.