Yonkers bank employee gets prison term for theft from customer

A former Chase Bank employee was sentenced to prison on Wednesday for stealing $122,100 from a bank client.

Matthew Gunther, 34, New Rochelle, was found guilty by a jury in Westchester County Court of grand larceny, forgery and tax fraud.

Gunther worked as a personal banker at the Chase branch in Getty Square, Yonkers. In 2012, a customer deposited money from a matured certificate of deposit in a new savings account, according to a news release from District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino Jr.

Gunther set up the account and knew the password and user ID. He also knew that the customer used an account at another bank for routine transactions and did not expect to use the new account on a regular basis.

Bank records and video surveillance show Gunther making numerous cash withdrawals at the bank counter, according to the district attorney, when the customer was not present.

Seven months after he opened the account, the customer returned to withdraw a large portion of his savings and discovered that money was missing.

The state Department of Taxation and Finance investigated with Chase”™s help.

Assistant District Attorney Gwen Galef of the economic crimes bureau prosecuted the case.

County Court Judge Anne Minihan sentenced Gunther to concurrent prison terms, ranging from one year to four and a half years, on 21 felony counts. She ordered him to pay $122,100 in restitution and $9,336 in state income taxes, and remanded him to the state Department of Corrections.