BofA worker stole $579K to avoid Vallejo's 'slums'

[alp227]

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

(09-28) 16:42 PDT VALLEJO --

A former Bank of America employee was sentenced Wednesday to more than two years in federal prison for transferring more than a half-million dollars to her own account to avoid what her attorney called a return to "the slums of Vallejo."

Abigail Tambac Tonsager, 36, of Vallejo pleaded guilty to bank fraud in June. She admitted that she transferred $579,652 from various accounts to an account in her maiden name from 2002 to 2010.

To cover her tracks, Tonsager created false documents showing the return of money to a bank customer but listing her own bank account number.

At a hearing in Oakland, U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken ordered Tonsager to surrender Nov. 9 to begin serving a 27-month prison sentence. The judge also ordered her to pay full restitution.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/09/28/BAI51LB18L.DTL

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Hmm...when is the headline going to be "Wall Street CEOs stole billions and sent many middle-class families to the slums"?

[dkf]

1. Personally I think a lot of the prosecutable knowable stuff was done at this level.

The higher ups might have suspected, but I doubt they knew for sure. If there is evidence they did know early on then that is the smoking gun.

[secondwind]

2. She got off easy IMHO. I remember reading here on DU about a black guy who

stole about $100 from a convenience store, and had a change of heart the next day and returned the money. He got 15 years in prison. It was down south somewhere. (maybe he had a record?)

[Divine Discontent]

4. I just looked at that pic again last week. it is sickening. The Roy Brown case!

Get it - http://www.zazzle.com/republicans_2012_keeping_millions_out_of_work_bumper_sticker-128002960205017719

[Scuba]

7. America the shameful. Am I proud to be an American? Yes....

...am I proud of everything America does in my name? No.

[Arctic Dave]

3. 2 years? That's it? WTF!

[99th_Monkey]

5. 2 years is actually quite a long time

if you are the one doing the time.

[Blue_Tires]

8. I think the point of it is she probably would have gotten a longer sentence

had she say, robbed a gas station...

[99th_Monkey]

10. Yep. it's fucked up for sure. no argument there. nnt

[Arctic Dave]

9. No, it is not. Two years is easy knowing just that you are going to be there two years.

[99th_Monkey]

11. Whatever. Diff. strokes i guess. Prison's just not my thing. nt

[jerseyjack]

6. So she gets 27 months for 500K.

Banking execs. who stole from the taxpayers through fraud don't even get indicted.

[Javaman]

12. To answer your question: never.

she shouldn't have used her own account number. Total amateur.

[tawadi]

13. I can think of a more creative sentencing for that former BofA employee. eom