A former bank manager who pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $200,000 from an incarcerated customer has been sentenced to six months of house arrest and has vowed to work hard to pay the money back.
David Parsons, 39, made the vow to Berks County Judge Stephen Lieberman before he was sentenced Monday, the Reading Eagle reported.
The judge said the case was unusual because Parsons, of Shillington, had cooperated, pleaded guilty to theft and pledged to make full restitution and because house arrest was in the best interest of taxpayers.
The sentence also included 6 1/2 years of probation. Prosecutors had sought a sentence of nine to 23 months in the county jail.
Defense attorney Paul Missan said Parsons had recently opened a restaurant in Reading and allowing his client to work there also would benefit the economy.
Authorities said the former Metro Bank manager created debit cards using the victim's personal information and made daily withdrawals from ATMs in Berks and Lebanon counties in 2011.
They said the customer was in York County Prison and Muskingum County Jail in Ohio but inherited money while incarcerated. The customer was released from the Ohio prison in December 2011.
A total of $60,000 in restitution from the $196,000 taken has been paid: $20,000 from Parsons and $40,000 from a business to which he gave money.
Detectives said Parsons used some of the money to buy 1-ounce gold bars valued at $84,000, which he then sold, but investigators have not recovered them.
Parsons apologized to the bank and his family, saying, “This is something I struggle with every day.”
