Laura Parrish, a former employee of a local bank in Pine Bluff, was sentenced on May 6 to thirty-six months in federal prison for stealing more than $400,000 from the bank’s customers. United States District Judge Brian S. Miller handed down the sentence following Parrish’s guilty plea to one count of bank theft. The announcement was made by Jonathan D. Ross, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas.
Parrish worked at the bank for over seven years before her termination and used her position to access customer funds between November 2016 and January 2024. She used these funds to pay personal credit cards and transferred money into her own online financial accounts. Investigators found that she also opened credit cards in other people’s names and used customer accounts to make payments on those cards.
Between August 31, 2021, and April 18, 2023, Parrish embezzled approximately $364,000 from one family—including from an account belonging to a deceased individual—and continued these activities after the customer’s death. In total, between July 2021 and January 2024, she stole about $413,871 from eight different customers.
“This individual abused a position of trust to steal from hardworking Arkansans, including some of our most vulnerable citizens,” said Jason Van Goor, Special Agent in Charge of the Little Rock Field Office at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). “The FBI will continue working with our partners to hold fraudsters accountable and pursue justice for victims.” John T. Perez of the Office of Inspector General for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said: “Laura Parrish abused her bank position to embezzle funds from innocent customers for her own benefit and has now been brought to justice… This sentence should serve as a warning that we will vigorously pursue bank insiders who defraud financial institutions regulated and supervised by the Federal Reserve Board.” Jeff Thomson with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General added: “It is especially concerning when bank insiders abuse their positions of trust to victimize unwitting bank customers… The FDIC OIG will continue… ensuring that those who selfishly steal for personal gain are held accountable.” Ross said: “Laura Parrish took advantage of her position at the bank… Our office will continue to work with its law enforcement partners…”
The case was investigated by several agencies including the FBI; Office of Inspector General for both the Board of Governors at Federal Reserve System/Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; and FDIC Office of Inspector General.
The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District prosecutes federal crimes—including cases like this—and manages civil litigation on behalf of federal interests across its jurisdiction spanning forty-one counties organized into Northern, Central and Delta divisions according to its official website.
