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Bishop woman arrested in WaMu theft case |
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Friday, 09 May 2008 |
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By Mike Gervais
Register Staff 5-8-2008
More than a year after opening an investigation into possible embezzlement from Washington Mutual, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has made an arrest.
According to FBI Agent Mark Abe, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has charged former Washington Mutual employee Jo Ann Barba of Bishop with alleged theft or embezzlement.
“Based on that indictment, we issued a warrant and” the Bishop Police Department arrested Barba on Friday, Abe said. She was transported to Inyo County Jail, where federal agents took her into custody on Monday.
Barba was arraigned in court on Tuesday. “She was released from custody based on federal conditions she must meet,” Abe said, adding that he did not know what conditions the magistrate required of Barba in exchange for her temporary release. He did say, however, that “she is under supervised release.”
Last spring Washington Mutual began an internal investigation into missing funds reported by customers at the Bishop branch of the bank. The bank turned findings from its investigation over to the FBI in April.
According to the FBI, funds first began to go missing around December of 2005 and continued through April of 2007. Unconfirmed reports suggest that more than $780,000 was taken from accounts at the Bishop Washington Mutual branch during that time.
The FBI is not releasing how many victims were involved in the case. “I’m not at liberty to release that detail yet, this is an ongoing investigation,” said Abe.
Barba was a bank teller at Washington Mutual, and “in her capacity she stole money from customers’ accounts,” Abe said.
Last April Washington Mutual reimbursed all affected customers for the missing cash and any interest that would have been accrued. The reimbursements came through the bank’s zero liability fraud coverage.
“The customers that were affected have been made whole,” Washington Mutual spokesman Gary Kishner said.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 25 June 2008 )
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