Bank Accountant Stole $180K From Woman Who Saw Her ‘Like A Girl’

A bank teller in Houston, Texas, has been accused of stealing $180,000 from an elderly customer.

The 86-year-old victim apparently trusted the 29-year-old bank teller “like a daughter” before the alleged robbery, ABC 7 reported Friday.

Now, officers are trying to find the young woman accused in the alleged crime, which took place this year over a period of five months.

Image show the suspect, identified as Cecilia Hope Brown, is facing a second-degree felony charge of grand larceny by an elderly person:

Charging documents state that Brown developed a relationship with the elderly customer, who came into the Frost Bank regularly.

An investigation was opened when the victim questioned why her Frost Bank IRA account that was supposed to have $180,000 in it was down to $1.50, the ABC 7 report continued:

The victim’s account apparently pulled a number of unauthorized cases. Some of her withdrawal slips are said to show “inconsistencies with the older woman’s signature and the presence of Brown’s own signature.”

A bank supervisor told authorities she watched surveillance video of the suspect taking money out of the vault. Apparently Brown claimed she took the money to the victim in her car several times, but there was no video evidence of that happening.

According to a charging document, “Brown took wads of money out of the vault, hid them under papers, walked them out to a teller’s counter, and stored the money underneath. She is then seen leaving the bank with boxes from the counter,” the ABC 7 article said, noting that the bank had placed the young woman on administrative leave.

The victim’s money was later refunded.

According to the Texas Attorney General’s website, employees, caregivers and relatives who steal from senior citizens can commit financial exploitation.

The website states, “Employees who deal directly with seniors in banks are in a unique position to detect and prevent financial abuse of this type.”

The American Bankers Association lists several ways seniors can protect themselves from financial abuse.

In June, Breitbart News reported that caregivers and loved ones across America rob seniors of $20.3 billion annually, while strangers take another $8 billion a year.

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Bank Accountant Stole $180K From Woman Who Saw Her ‘Like A Girl’