Former Bakersfield Credit Union Employee Sentenced to 12 Months’ Imprisonment for Stealing a Quarter of a Million Dollars

FRESNO, CA—United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that today United States District Judge Anthony W. Ishii sentenced Carolyn Jean Jones, 45, of Bakersfield, to 12 months in prison for stealing approximately a quarter of a million dollars from her employer, Kern Schools Federal Credit Union. Judge Ishii, in sentencing the defendant, also imposed restitution in the amount of $245,000 and 36 months of supervised release.

In denying the defendant’s request for probation, Judge Ishii noted, “This is a serious offense and the message must be sent that those who steal these amounts from their employers will go to prison.”

This case is the product of an extensive investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stanley A. Boone.

According to court documents, Jones worked for Kern Schools Federal Credit Union as a Servicing Representative in the Home Loan Processing Center. From March 2003 and to November 2003, she embezzled over $250,000 by opening up fraudulent lines of credit using pre-existing customers’ information and diverting the monies from those lines of credit into accounts she controlled.