A Villa Rica woman who formerly worked for a bank will make an initial court appearance Wednesday on charges that she siphoned money out of customer accounts and stole identities to make fraudulent loans.
Sherri Whitlock Hines, 40, was indicted last week in Carroll County Superior Court on five counts of theft by taking and seven counts of identity fraud.
Hines is a former employee of Community & Southern Bank, and she worked out of three branches in Douglas and Carroll counties, Villa Rica police said.
Police allege that Hines took more than $60,000 from client bank accounts, and the total taken could rise to more than $100,000, including fraudulent loans.
She was fired from the bank earlier this year, police said, and an internal audit uncovered several discrepancies that were reported to police.
“A lot of it was done 800 dollars here, 1,000 dollars there,” Villa Rica police Capt. Keith Shaddix said.
Hines' attorney, Mac Pilgrim, told Channel 2 Action News that his client “did nothing wrong.” He hinted that part of his defense strategy could focus on turmoil at the bank.
Hines’ branches formerly belonged to First National Bank of Georgia, which failed last year.
"It's been mass turnover, huge turnover at the top end, and we're not sure if it's an internal issue or if someone has framed her to make it look this way or if she's being used as a scapegoat," Pilgrim told Channel 2 Action News.
In a statement, Community & Southern officials said the bank is committed to security and protecting customer privacy, and is assisting the police. The bank declined to comment further.
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