J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building, Washington, D.C. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM
Former Centra Credit Union branch manager Teresa Palmer is accused of stealing more than $350,000 from elderly members who were unable to regularly monitor their accounts, according to court documents filed by federal prosecutors in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis.
Palmer pleaded not guilty to four felony counts of bank fraud during a court hearing on July 24, court filings showed.
She began working as a Centra branch manager in Indianapolis in 2014. From January 2021 to December 2022, Palmer allegedly made hundreds of unapproved transactions on elderly member accounts and withdrew more than $350,000. She used the funds on personal expenses, including gambling, according to the indictment.
She was also accused of fraudulently authorizing cashier’s checks made payable to others and forging the recipients’ signatures on the back of those checks. Palmer then allegedly cashed the checks herself or directed branch employees to do so, falsely claiming the recipients had asked her cash them, court documents showed.
In a statement, the $2.2 billion Centra, based in Columbus, Ind., said it detected the fraud and immediately took steps to address the alleged crime.
“At Centra, our top priority is our members. When we uncovered a situation in which a former team member was suspected of taking advantage of the trust some members placed in them, we immediately took steps to address the issue,” the credit union said. “The team member is no longer with the organization, and we are actively working with the FBI on an ongoing investigation. Our impacted members are aware of the situation and have not incurred any losses. We will continue to practice the strong internal controls that helped us identify this situation.”
Peter Strozniak can be reached at pstrozniak@cutimes.com.
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