Federal prosecutors say a former assistant vice president at a northern New Jersey bank has been charged in a scheme to embezzle more than $1 million.
Miye Chon, who also is known as "Karen Chon,'' turned herself in to the FBI on Tuesday and was due to make her initial court appearance later in the day. The 34-year-old Englewood Cliffs resident is charged with theft, embezzlement or misapplication of funds by a bank officer or employee.
Prosecutors say Chon was employed by BankAsiana until it was acquired by another bank in October 2013.
Chon was an operations officer and later an assistant vice president at the bank's Fort Lee branch. She had access to customer accounts, as well as the bank's internal account records, computer system and vault.
Over the course of several years, Chon allegedly stole more than $1 million by regularly making unauthorized transfers among accounts, and then physically removing cash from the bank's vault.
BankAsiana's successor bank began an internal investigation after a customer found problems with tax forms and account records. Prosecutors say the successor bank discovered that Chon, using her unique credentials, accessed BankAsiana's computer systems on multiple occasions to make unauthorized transfers.
Chon allegedly avoided detection by making false entries in the bank's records and ensuring that funds she removed from accounts were transferred back.
Chon allegedly embezzled funds on dozens of occasions, typically taking tens of thousands of dollars at a time.
She faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
