LUBBOCK, Texas — Court records revealed Tuesday that a woman who worked at a local branch of Wells Fargo Bank accepted a plea deal for an embezzlement case.
Patricia Sanchez Tovar, according to court records, admitted that when she was an employee with Wells Fargo during the summer of 2018, she “willfully misapplied, embezzled, abstracted, or purloined … moneys, funds, assets, and securities entrusted to the custody and care of said bank.”
On June 6, 2018, an elderly woman passed away with a bank account balance of $58,921.75.
Tovar contacted her sister-in-law, Sara Ruth Briones, a bank manager at Lubbock National Bank, to open an account after Tovar offered her $3,000, as previously reported by EverythingLubbock.com.
Briones admitted that she opened the account in violation of bank policy.
Related Story: Lubbock bank manager admits she participated in embezzlement scheme
Tovar said she was an employee with Wells Fargo from May 2002 through September 2018, according to court records. Tovar “started her career with Wells Fargo as a bank teller but was promoted to management after a number of years of employment with the bank.”
An elderly woman banked with Wells Fargo and was assisted numerous times by Tovar, court records stated. On June 6, 2018, the elderly woman passed away with a bank account balance of $58,921.75.
Tovar then used a temporary check, written on the deceased woman’s account, for $58,921.75.
In July 2018, a different customer, an 81-year-old woman “inadvertently left her driver’s license and social security card on [Tovar’s] desk,” court records stated.
So, Tovar used copies of the woman’s driver’s license and social security card along with Sarah Briones to create an account at Lubbock National Bank in the name of the 81-year-old.
Tovar then used a temporary check, written on the deceased woman’s account, for $58,921.75.
Tovar drove to an LNB in Central Lubbock and gave the check to Briones, according to court records.
Court records said Tovar contacted the 81-year-old woman in Dickens and offered $40,000 to release the money. It didn’t work.
Once the money was deposited in the bank, Tovar planned to “withdraw the funds from the account and split the money with Briones,” court records state.
Lubbock National Bank sent a letter to the 81-year-old woman in Dickens concerning her new account. She immediately contacted LNB and wanted the bank account frozen.
Court records said Tovar contacted the woman in Dickens and offered $40,000 to release the money. It didn’t work.
If the court accepts Tovar’s plea deal, maximum penalties include her to service a prison sentence up to 30 years, according to court records.
Briones took a plea deal for misprision of a felony and faces up to three years in prison.
