Malden man stole $375,000 from bank where he was employed

Bank teller supervisor pleaded guilty to federal bank fraud charge in U.S. District Court

Advocate Staff report

  On July 21, 2023, a 32-year-old bank teller supervisor from Malden pleaded guilty in federal court in Worcester for his role in defrauding his employer out of $375,000. Pablo Rocha, 32, of Malden, pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud. U.S. Senior District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman scheduled sentencing for Nov. 16, 2023. Rocha was charged on June 26, 2023.

Between July 2022 and December 2022, Rocha worked as a bank teller supervisor at a federally insured bank in Massachusetts. Rocha used his access to the bank’s vault to steal cash. Rocha then covered his tracks by writing false entries in the bank’s records and by processing fake transactions in the bank’s electronic records system to make it appear that the cash had been shipped to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. In total, Rocha stole approximately $375,000.

The charge of bank fraud provides for a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release, restitution and a fine of up to $1 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes that govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy and the FBI’s Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Division, Christopher DiMenna, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Markham of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.