From the Rockford Squire

Amanda Renee Burns

Altering documents—including audits—allowed a teller and then customer service manager to steal nearly $1 million from a Rockford Fifth Third bank over five years.

Amanda Renee Burns started taking cash from the vault at the bank when she was a teller. She admitted in federal court Friday, March 12, that from May 2005 to May 2009 she took $950,000. The most she took at one time was $10,000.

Burns still faces sentencing in the case, which could be a maximum of 30 years in prison, in addition to restitution of $885,171 after she returned $65,000 to authorities.

According to Burns’ confession, she altered documents to cover up the thefts, including audit figures over the years she stole money. Later promoted from teller to customer service manager, she began taking money she supposedly put in ATM machines. When the bank officials became aware of discrepancies, they asked Burns to look into the problem, but she said she couldn’t find anything wrong.

Her lawyer Frank Stanley told reporters the mother was trying to create a better life for her children than she had growing up. She also claimed to have been abused while in day care, so needed the cash to obtain very safe daycare for her children.

A representative from Fifth Third Bank had not returned calls from the Squire as of press time.