A former Bank of America employee was sentenced Tuesday to four years and nine months in federal prison for wire fraud, theft by a bank employee and identity theft.
Luciana Alvarado, 36, of Wesley Chapel, pleaded guilty to stealing $180,000 from bank clients.
She made fraudulent credits, overdrafts and address changes to accounts and transferred money to herself and family members while she worked as an electronic claims associate at Bank of America from 2007 to 2008, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
She continued stealing even after she was fired, using the same accounts as well as opening up “various fraudulent accounts at ING Bank, E-trade and other financial institutions,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. She chose victims with names similar to hers and her family members, authorities said.
The United States Secret Service investigated the case. United States District Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich sentenced Alvarado at the U.S. District Court in Tampa.
St. Petersburg Times
