Federal court proceedings are pending against Alexa Marie Braud, a former Louisiana credit union employee, accused of stealing $181,000 from a branch safe and fleeing to Florida, where she was arrested.
Braud, 34, of Gretna, La., was a teller manager at the $310 million River Land Federal Credit Union for about a year and a half.
When she arrived at a branch at 7:35 a.m. on Feb. 4 at the credit union's Virgil Street branch in Gretna, security video showed Braud holding a gray and black bag as she walked to the safe at the back of the branch and disarmed the alarm system, according to a criminal complaint filed Feb. 11 in U.S. District Court in New Orleans.
She opened the safe's door, manipulated its contents and held the bag out of the camera's view. Braud then closed the safe's door and left the branch without locking the safe or rearming its alarm system. She walked out at 7:37 a.m., leaving her credit union-issued identification card on a teller's desk, federal investigators said.
An employee who arrived at the branch later that morning noticed money was missing from the safe and called Gretna police. After identifying Braud as the suspect, police issued an alert for her red Toyota Corolla.
That afternoon, Florida Highway Patrol troopers spotted Braud's car in the Pensacola, Fla., area., about 240 miles east of Gretna. After pulling her over, authorities searched the vehicle and found nearly $150,000 and a firearm, according to the criminal complaint.
Braud's car was impounded. She was taken into custody based on a Gretna Police Department's arrest warrant and booked at the Walton County Jail. Although she is no longer there, federal court proceedings are pending in Louisiana, where she is expected to be arraigned on a felony bank theft charge.
"We appreciate the swift and coordinated response from federal and local law enforcement following the robbery at our Gretna office. We are grateful that no one was injured during the incident, and our Gretna branch reopened for business as usual the next day," a River Land representative said in a statement. "The safety of our members and employees remains our highest priority. We are committed to maintaining a secure environment across all our locations. As always, our members' funds remain safe and are federally insured by the NCUA."
Peter Strozniak can be reached at peter.strozniak@arc-network.com.
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