Ex-bank manager sentenced to 53 months

BANGOR – The former branch manager of Bangor Savings Bank in Bucksport will spend nearly five years in federal prison for stealing more than $500,000 from the accounts of senior citizens to buy her husband’s love.

Wendy Dunlea, 34, of Carmel was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court to 53 months in prison for bank embezzlement and credit card fraud.

U.S. District Judge George Z. Singal also sentenced her to five years of supervised release and ordered her to pay $579,000 in restitution to the bank and credit card companies. Her dozen victims included her mother and father and the parents of a Maine District Court judge.

Dunlea spent $17,500 of the money on trips to Las Vegas, Key West, Aruba and a Carnival Cruise, according to court documents.

Her purchases included a $48,000 down payment on a mobile home, $15,000 in down payments on two Harley-Davidson motorcycles and a Toyota, $3,400 for earrings, $3,500 for computers, $1,500 for an audio and television system and $2,500 for a snowmobile,

She spent more than $220,000 of the money on an addition to her home, including furniture and appliances, according to court documents.

Dunlea’s purchases included $54,500 for structure work on a garage and “bonus room” addition. Other expenses included nearly $5,000 for a television, $2,500 for a pool table, $1,700 for a framed shirt that belonged to former Boston Bruins player Cam Neely, nearly $2,000 for a stained glass Dunlea sign and $569 for a keg cooler.

Her attorney, Wayne Foote of Bangor, said Thursday that Dunlea’s motive was “to buy love from her husband.” When her theft was discovered in June 2005, her husband filed for divorce, the attorney said.

Court documents did not detail how the ex-bank manager spent the additional portions of the $550,000 she admitted to embezzling over 61/2 years.

Dunlea, who was employed as a branch manager between January 1999 and July 2005, pleaded guilty to the charges in December. On Wednesday, the execution of her sentence was stayed until June 13.

As a manager, Dunlea had access to customer account information and the authority to process deposits and withdrawals, loan applications, account openings and closings and a wide variety of transactions, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

She also had the authority to issue bank checks to customers for loan proceeds, account closings and other transactions.

Her victims were between the ages of 79 and 91, according to federal prosecutors. Their accounts showed high balances but little activity.

Dunlea’s crime was uncovered when a bank customer attempted to withdraw funds from a certificate of deposit she held at the bank.

The woman was told the CD was being held as collateral for a loan in her name. The customer said that she had not taken a loan against her CD, according to court documents.

Dunlea’s victims included the elderly parents of a Maine District Court judge. She used more than $20,000 from their accounts for her own use, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The judge met with Dunlea to make sure that handling his parents’ financial affairs would not be a burden. She assured him that it would not, the prosecutor said, after Dunlea already had taken money from his parents’ bank accounts.

She also admitted to charging nearly $26,000 to credit cards she opened in her parents’ names without their permission.

Dunlea faced up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million on the embezzlement charge alone. Under the federal sentencing guidelines, the recommended sentence was 63 to 78 months.

Her sentence was increased significantly under the guidelines from a base level of six to 12 months because:

. Of the amount of money involved.

. Her victims were elderly and considered to be vulnerable.

. There were more than 10 victims.

. She abused a position of trust.

. She used sophisticated means to execute her scheme.