Former bank officer pleads guilty to bank fraud

KSDK -- A 38-year-old Pocahontas, Illinois woman pleaded guilty Friday to bank fraud for illegally transferring funds from account holders at the bank she worked at, according to A. Courtney Cox, US Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois.

Michelle Knebel had worked as a Vice President and Regional Deposit Supervisor for First Mid-Illinois Bank and Trust. She admitted that between 2002 and June 2008, she used the bank's computerized banking software to move approximately $174,000 into her personal account.

She also admitted to unlawfully taking money from an account for the Highland School Charitable Foundation and from individual account holders.

Knebel faces up to 30 years in prison, a $1,000,000 fine, five years of supervised release, and a mandatory restitution when she is sentenced on December 4.

Meanwhile, the bank has returned the stolen funds back to the customers' bank accounts.