Bank employee claims she was just ‘borrowing’ money from customers when she took more than $240K from accounts: report

A bank worker in Arkansas was arrested after she allegedly stole more than $240,000 from her customers - but claimed she was “borrowing” it.

Heather Pankey was arrested Wednesday in connection with her alleged scheme. She was working at the First National Bank of Commerce in Pocahontas, Arkansas, when the thefts allegedly happened.

Arrest documents state that Pankey's alleged thefts were discovered March 20 after multiple customer accounts were flagged for fraudulent bank activity, according to KAIT.

“The initial red flag appeared when a transaction was initiated on a deceased customer’s account and failed to post,” the arrest affidavit said.

According to investigators, the transaction was initiated by someone using employee log-in credentials and matched those assigned to Pankey.

Investigators further claim that Pankey accessed multiple customer accounts and transferred money into a joint account that she had been sharing with her grandmother. Pankey allegedly withdrew money from at least eight customer accounts, according to the affidavit.

The total amount of money stolen is reportedly more than $241,900, according to investigators.

“The movement of these funds was part of a pattern of behavior in which [Pankey] transferred money from one customer’s account to another to conceal prior unauthorized withdrawals,” the affidavit said.

Pankey submitted a statement to the court explaining her actions.

"I borrowed money from a couple of customers that I knew wouldn't need the money at the time," she wrote.

Pankey was booked into the Randolph County Detention Center Wednesday morning, and has been charged with theft of property, forgery, financial identity fraud and computer fraud. Theft of property and forgery are both Class B felonies, financial identity fraud is a Class C felony, and computer fraud is a Class D felony.