Woman charged with embezzling $11,000

An arrest warrant has been issued for a former Columbia Falls bank teller accused of stealing $11,000 from customer accounts between 2008 and 2009.

The Flathead County Attorney’s Office has charged Penny Sue Rhine with theft by embezzlement, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in Montana State Prison and a $50,000 fine.

A Columbia Falls Police Department detective began investigating Rhine on Feb. 8, 2010, after the Whitefish Credit Union’s senior vice president of operations reported that unauthorized withdrawals had been noted by several customers.

Because each teller is given an access code used to process every transaction, the withdrawals were traced back to Rhine, according to court documents.

A man reported that $500 was taken from his account without permission in August of 2009. A woman said that $2,400 was withdrawn from her account on July 16, 2009, and a second woman said $1,450 was taken from her account the following day.

On Nov. 2, 2009, she allegedly made unauthorized withdrawals totaling $6,900 from the accounts of three separate customers, according to court documents. She also allegedly created two money orders in the amount of $650 without corresponding accounting.

Reporter Eric Schwartz may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at eschwartz@dailyinterlake.com.