Bank employee receives prison term, ordered to pay $1.3 million in restitution

One of three women accused of stealing almost $4 million from The First National Bank of Walnut Ridge was sentenced Thursday afternoon in federal court in Little Rock.

Brenda Montgomery, 57, of Walnut Ridge was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison, and was ordered to pay more than $1.3 million in restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney Clerk’s Office. Judge Kristine Baker also ordered Montgomery to three years of supervised release.

Two other defendants in the case, Peggy Sutton of Biggers and Cindy Tate of Walnut Ridge, will be sentenced Friday. The trio pleaded guilty in May.

The three women spent years bilking cash from the main vault at the bank’s Walnut Ridge location, according to federal prosecutors. Tate knew when internal audits would take place, and would alert her co-conspirators. The women would move cash from other bank vaults in the banking chain to make it appear there was enough cash. The money would be returned once the audits were complete.

Bank officials became suspicious in April 2015, and a surprise audit was conducted. The audit revealed the women had stolen almost $4 million during a 10-year period.