Former teller admits
stealing from customers

A former teller at Central Pacific Bank pleaded guilty yesterday to stealing $110,000 from two customers' accounts and depositing the funds into her personal account.

Anne Li, 28, of Palolo entered her plea to first-degree theft, second-degree forgery and money laundering before acting Circuit Judge Hilary Benson Gangnes. She faces a maximum of 10 years' imprisonment and a $25,000 fine when sentenced April 20.

According to Deputy Prosecutor Randal Lee, Li, who worked at the Makiki branch, withdrew $5,000 from a customer's account on April 14 without authorization and deposited it into her account.

On April 21 she withdrew $105,000 from another customer's account and deposited $5,000 into the first customer's account. She then deposited the remaining $100,000 into her personal account the next day.

She apparently got caught when the first customer checked her monthly bank statement, noticed the unauthorized transaction and notified the bank, which traced the money, Lee said.

Under a plea agreement, Li is required to pay back the entire amount and cannot seek a deferral of her guilty plea, which would have kept her record clean.

She has since paid back the entire amount in a civil judgment with the help of her family, her attorney, Brandon Flores, said. Li is currently working, but not for the bank, he said.

Lee said he hopes that a criminal record will deter Li from holding any positions in the future where she would have access to other people's money.

Although she cooperated in the investigation and has paid back the money, prosecuting her was important because of the position of trust she held at the bank, where she had access to customers' confidential information, Lee said.

He praised the customer who checked her monthly statement and alerted bank officials to the suspicious transaction.

Safeguarding their customers' assets and confidential information is of highest priority, said Ann Takiguchi Marcos, spokeswoman for Central Pacific Bank.

For accuracy, it is important for customers to review any financial statement, whether it is from a bank, credit card company or any other source, she said. "It's just good practice to routinely verify your checking account statements against your register."