Ex-banker accused of taking $559,040

Ex-banker accused of taking $559,040

The Gazette

IOWA CITY - A former Hills Bank & Trust vice president and controller is accused of embezzlement and money laundering in an eight-count indictment filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.

The indictment states Steven F. Sueppel, 42, of Johnson County, embezzled $559,040 from July 26, 2000, to Sept. 12, 2007, and laundered the money to conceal the theft.

U.S. Attorney Matthew Whitaker announced Tuesday that a federal grand jury in Davenport returned the indictment following an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Johnson County Sheriff's Office.

U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Mike Bladel couldn't comment on details of the investigation, as it is ongoing.

Sueppel is not in custody and a preliminary hearing has not been set, Bladel said.
Sueppel is charged with one count of bank embezzlement and six counts of money laundering.

The bank's deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. the indictment states. No customer accounts were affected.

Sueppel is accused of depositing money embezzled from Hills into a bank account six times during August and September. Five deposits were $2,500 and one $1,500, the indictment states.

The indictment charges these transactions were designed to conceal and disguise the nature, location, source, ownership and control of proceeds from the embezzlement, and Sueppel knew the property involved represented proceeds from an unlawful activity.

The grand jury demands in the indictment that Sueppel forfeit $559,040.

"While this is very disappointing, Hills Bank and Trust Company is a resilient organization committed to addressing challenges as they arise," Hills Bank President Dwight Seegmiller said in a statement released last night. "Our customers can be assured that the individual's alleged actions have not affected our bank's ability to conduct business in any respect."

Bank spokesman John Benson also said in the statement that the misconduct -- which was discovered internally -- involved internal accounts and the bank is filing a claim on its insurance bond for employee or officer dishonesty.

Sueppel could not be reached for comment last night.

Bank embezzlement is punishable by a fine of up to $1 million and 30 years in prison.

Money laundering is punishable by up to $500,000 and 20 years in prison.