Local bank employee charged with bilking thousands out of elderly customer

(KMOV) -- A former bank employee is being accused of bilking an elderly customer out of thousands.

St. Louis police say Kathryn Smith, 63, is facing charges of financial exploitation of the elderly and forgery.

According to police reports, Smith is responsible for the disappearance of $22,000 between June and December of 2013 from an 85-year-old customer at the Regions Bank on New Halls Ferry Road.

A spokesperson for Regions Bank said they fired the personal banker immediately after the accusations and are now working closely with investigators in north St. Louis County.

Police say Smith was directed to move the money from a money market account to an ACD but while the accounts were created, the money never made it there.

Investigators say Smith made the withdrawals on her own, first claiming to police the accounts belonged to her mother and then making no comment when police say they showed her evidence.

The Regions Bank spokesperson said they have reimbursed stolen money back to the elderly victim.

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Local bank employee charged with bilking thousands out of elderly customer