A Sac City woman is accused of stealing millions of dollars through the bank where she worked. The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa says 48-year-old Charlene Marie Pickhinke used a scheme involving fake certificates of deposits and bank accounts to steal at least four million dollars.
The charges say Pickhinke sold more than 40 fraudulent C-D’s from 1995 through 2008 while an employee of the Sac City Bank. She claimed the C-D’s were being sold through the bank.
It’s also alleged she opened bank accounts using the Social Security numbers of two bank customers who had died — and then used those accounts to launder the money from the fake certificates she sold.
Pickhinke is charged with wire fraud, making a false statement in a bank’s books and records, money laundering and aggravated identity theft. Pichinke is schedule to make her initial appearance in federal court in Sioux City in the next few days.
