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A Houston bank teller identified as Cecilia Hope Brown has been accused of stealing $180,000 from an 86-year-old customer.
Cops are now searching for Cecilia Hope Brown who had befriended the victim, local ABC affiliate KTRK reported.
According to a charging document, Brown built a rapport with an older woman, who was a regular at the Frost Bank, to the point that the woman considered and treated the bank employee “like a daughter.”
Brown has been charged with a second-degree felony charge of aggregate theft from an elderly person.
Who is Cecilia Hope Brown?
Cecilia Hope Brown is 29-years-old.
She’s described as a white female with brown eyes and brown hair, standing 5 feet tall and weighing 180 pounds.
Brown is no longer employed by the bank.
From $180K, down to $1.50
The Houston Police Department’s Financial Crimes Division picked up the investigation after the alleged victim asked why her Frost Bank IRA account, with $180,000, showed a balance on July 3 with all but $1.50 gone.
In a charging document, the older woman claimed she hadn’t been a recent fraud victim and that she didn’t give anyone access to her account except for a bank employee named Cecilia, later identified as Cecilia Hope Brown.
The older woman also said she never gave Brown permission to make withdrawals.
According to investigators, the bank showed the victim six unauthorized withdrawals from Feb. 21 through July 3, averaging a little over $23,000 per transaction.
In addition, the victim gave the bank-issued withdrawal slips to investigators, who noted inconsistencies with the older woman’s signature and the presence of Brown’s own. Brown signs under notary public on some but also as authorized trustee or custodian on most.
Investigators also wrote that the victim’s signature on the slips didn’t match the one used when the account was opened.
