Three Massachusetts bank tellers are facing criminal charges after investigators say they stole “substantial sums” of money from customer accounts by processing unauthorized withdrawals.
Yeimaly Moscat, 23, and Yojairis Suazo, 21, both of Boston, were arraigned Thursday morning in Middlesex Superior Court on charges of larceny over $1,200 by scheme, embezzlement by a bank employee, conspiracy to commit larceny, and attempted larceny, according to Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan. Angelica Morales, 31, also of Boston, will be summonsed for arraignment next week.
Moscat, who was employed as a bank teller at a Citizens Bank branch in Somerville, allegedly processed 12 unauthorized withdrawals totaling $40,900 from customer bank accounts between September and November of 2022, Ryan said. Suazo, who was employed as a teller at a Citizens Bank in Dorchester, is accused of processing 15 unauthorized withdrawals totaling $30,850.
Moscat and Suazo then paid out the stolen funds in counter transactions to associates of theirs by entering the recipients as “Known Customers,” even though the individuals at the counter were not Citizens account holders.
While working at a Citizens Bank branch in Milton between November and December 2023, Morales allegedly processed a series of five unauthorized withdrawals from customer bank accounts, totaling $20,000, according to Ryan. Investigators said the stolen funds were also paid in counter transactions to apparent co-conspirators.
“The allegations in this case are that three defendants executed a coordinated scheme to steal funds from bank customers. They used their positions of trust to invade accounts and allegedly used their coconspirators to successfully take substantial sums from the bank,” Ryan said in a statement. “The investigators at Citizen’s Bank identified the suspicious transactions and brought them to our attention, which has enabled us to seek charges to hold these defendants accountable.”
Moscat’s bail was set at $1,000 with a condition she stay away from all Citizens Bank locations. Suazo was released on her own recognizance and ordered to stay away from all Citizens Bank locations.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Citizens Bank told Boston 25 News, “The safety and security of our customer’s accounts is of the upmost importance to us and we have robust security measures in place to monitor suspicious activity. As soon as we became aware of this incident we addressed the matter immediately. We take the privacy and protection of information entrusted to us seriously and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.”
This case is being investigated by Ryan’s office, the Somerville Police Department, and the United States Secret Service.
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