Aurora bank employee pleads guilty to $130K theft

A former Aurora bank employee pleaded guilty yesterday to a $130,000 embezzlement scheme.

Jo Ann Nickell, 45, worked at Community National Bank as a customer service representative and backup teller from Aug.17, 2009, to July 19, 2013. According to a news release from the office of Tammy Dickinson, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri, Nickell pleaded guilty to only one charge of embezzling $6,000 from a bank customer.

However, the overall scheme was much larger and the terms of her plea agreement stipulate she must pay full restitution in the amount of $130,268, said Don Ledford, a spokesman for Dickinson’s office.

“The remaining charges will be dismissed at the time of her sentencing hearing,” Ledford said via email.

Nickell has fully cooperated with authorities in the investigation and prosecution of her misconduct, according to the plea agreement.

Under federal statutes, Nickell could still face up to 30 years in federal prison without parole and a fine of up to $1 million. Her sentencing hearing will be scheduled following the U.S. Probation Office’s presentence investigation, according to the release.