CLOVIS, N.M. (AP) -- A 45-year-old Clovis woman has been convicted of forgery and sentenced to four years in prison.
District Attorney Matthew Chandler says Dawn Lebow was found guilty last week of 23 counts of forgery.
Lebow paid $60,000 in restitution for the victims at her sentencing. State District Judge Teddy Hartley ordered her to pay
an additional $30,000 after her release from prison.
Clovis police began investigating in September 2009 after more than 14 accounts of disabled clients had been closed at a bank in the eastern New Mexico community.
Detectives discovered Lebow, as a bank employee, was spending much of her time locating dormant accounts, taking the funds and closing the accounts without their owners' knowledge.
Authorities say Lebow embezzled approximately $90,000 and fraudulently closed an estimated 42 accounts.
(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
