3 Ex-Bank Employees Accused of Embezzling

Former bank employees from North Hollywood, Glendale and Burbank were among 16 people indicted Tuesday in S. Justice Department program named “fast track” aimed at workers in financial institutions.

A federal grand jury in Los Angeles indicted Mary Eugenia Hall, 19, of North Hollywood, a former teller at Security Pacific National Bank, on charges of embezzling $20,800 from her teller drawer. Another former Security Pacific teller, Melina Alvandy, 22, of Glendale, was charged with embezzling $20,000 from the bank’s cash vault.

The indictment also alleges that Eric Brown, 30, of Burbank, a former customer service representative at Security Pacific, embezzled about $37,300 from teller reserve cash chests in the bank’s vault.

Carole Levitzky, spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles, said that if convicted, the three each face possible prison terms of five to 20 years for each count, as well as possible fines between $250,000 and $1 million for each count.

The three are expected to be arraigned in U. S. District Court in Los Angeles in the next three weeks, she said.