Former Candler Co Bank Teller Pleads Guilty to Stealing Nearly $90,000 Deposited by Convenience Store

A former Candler County bank teller faces prison time and substantial restitution after pleading guilty to skimming money from a convenience store’s deposits.

Kayla Monroe Evans, 32, of Metter, Ga., awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Bank Fraud, said Jill E. Steinberg, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. The guilty plea subjects Evans to a statutory penalty of up to 30 years in prison, along with substantial fines and restitution, followed by up to three years of supervised release upon completion of any prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

“Bank customers count on their financial institutions to operate with honesty and integrity, and Kayla Evans violated that trust,” said U.S. Attorney Steinberg. “This plea offers assurance that Evans will be held accountable for her theft.”

As described in the plea agreement and in court, Evans worked as a teller for the Synovus Bank in Metter, where a local convenience store kept its account. An auditor for the store began noticing substantial discrepancies between the amount of cash presented to the bank for deposit compared to the amount credited to the store and worked with the bank to determine the cause.

A subsequent investigation found that from July 2019 through February 2021, Evans personally handled the store’s deposits, frequently skimming large amounts of cash for her personal use from the amount presented and crediting a smaller deposit to the store. In total, Evans stole approximately $87,748 from the convenience store’s deposits.  As part of her plea, Evans agrees to pay restitution for the full loss caused by her criminal conduct, and to never seek employment in any financial institution.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Randal Hall will schedule sentencing in the case following a pre-sentence investigation by U.S. Probation Services.

“We are pleased to work with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in bringing to justice those who commit bank fraud for their own personal gain,” said Brian Tucker, Special Agent in Charge, Eastern Region, Office of Inspector General for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The federal investigation was led by the Office of Inspector General for the Federal Reserve Board and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The investigation received support from the Candler County Sheriff’s Office, the District Attorney’s Office for the Middle Judicial Circuit, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.  The case was prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew A. Josephson.