HAMMOND, Ind.–A 73-year-old former manager at a credit union here has been sentenced for stealing , more than $500,000, while in Louisiana another has been charged with taking $100,000.
Sandra Santay, who was a manager at Lakeside Credit Union for 37 years, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Philip Simon to 27 months in prison and ordered to repay more than $491,000 in restitution after pleading guilty to bank fraud and admitting to using the money to gamble at local casino boats.
Court documents show Santay spent $500,000 she received in a personal injury settlement on gambling, and then spent the entirety of her $200,000 in retirement at the casino boats after maxing out her credit cards and after family members and friends loaned her money to get herself out of debt numerous times, according to NWITimes.com.
The same documents show Santay also stole money from the credit union to finance her gambling addiction, stealing the $491,000 between 2012 and 2015. Santay "gambled every penny away believing that at any moment she would 'hit the big one,’” according to the NWITimes.
“The sentencing memorandum said that at one point mental health professionals considered gambling merely a compulsion, however, the American Psychiatric Association recognized that pathological gambling is an addictive disorder much like drug addiction,” the NWITimes reported. “The documents show that Santay was very well liked at the credit union and made a number of friends over the years. It also showed that she volunteered throughout the community.”
Another Manager Charged in Louisiana
Meanwhile, in Marerro, La., the former branch manager of a credit union here has been charged with stealing more than $100,000.
According to U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans' office, Scott Breaux, 39, was charged with bank theft in an indictment that alleges Breaux stole $122,000 from ASI Federal Credit Union between November 2016 and July 2017 while working as a branch manager.
Breaux had joined ASI in 2011 and was named branch manager of ASI's Westwego branch in 2014, the indictment states. In early 2017, Breaux was transferred to an ASI branch in the Uptown area of New Orleans, where he continued to work as a branch manager until he was fired in July 2017, according to the indictment.
How the money was allegedly taken was not identified in the statement from prosecutors.
If convicted, Breaux faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, followed by up to three years of supervised release. He could also face up to a $250,000 fine, Evans' office said.