AUSTIN, Texas — A federal judge in Austin has sentenced a former Austin Capital One bank employee to five years in federal prison for stealing more than $1 million from a bank customer.
According to court records and testimony, Paola Gallego started working on the Capital One bank accounts of an elderly Austin couple in April 2014. Gallego had told one of the victims that if their spouse should die, another family member could take control of the $4.4 million in their bank account.
In 2016, the victim, with Gallego's guidance, took $400,000 to open an account at Wells Fargo Bank. After Gallego started spending large sums of money on personal and family expenses, Wells Fargo closed the account on suspicions of elder abuse.
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Gallego led her victim to open another joint checking account but with J.P. Morgan Chase this time. Gallego falsely claimed to be the victim's caretaker and a stay-at-home mother. Between October 2016 and April 2017, the victim withdrew $1.2 million from the Capital One bank account through cashiers checks with the understanding that Gallego would be depositing the money into the joint Chase Bank account.
Gallego instead deposited the funds into her own Chase Bank account and used the money for personal expenses, including buying a Range Rover Sport HSE, a Hawaiian vacation and making home improvements.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs said this is a clear cut case of someone taking advantage of a vulnerable victim.
"We will continue our vigorous pursuit of those who commit such unscrupulous actions with little or no regard for their victims.
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