Illinois banker charged with stealing $328,000 from customers in their 90s

A former banker in Illinois has been charged with illegally transferring around $328,000 (£248,000) from accounts owned by three elderly customers in their 90s.

DuPage County State's Attorney's Office said that a warrant had been issued for 47-year-old Christine Lange on 23 March but it was not until 30 July that she was apprehended.

The state's attorney's office said that Lange had been an account executive at Trust Company of Illinois (TCI), a position that gave her access to customer bank accounts.

Over almost four years, Lange is alleged to have made multiple payments from the accounts of three customers to her own personal account.

The transfers are alleged to have taken place 84 times between 12 September 2012 and 9 June 2016. The alleged transfers were discovered by an internal audit by TCI who then alerted authorities.

"The elderly can at times be seen as an easy target when it comes to financial crimes," State's Attorney Robert B. Berlin said. "Fortunately, personnel at TCI uncovered the alleged thefts and alerted authorities.

"I would like to thank the authorities with TCI for their complete cooperation throughout this entire case." Berlin added.

Lange's bond was set at $250,000 (£189,000) at a court appearance on Sunday, the State's Attorney's Office said - though online jail records said the amount of $25,000 (£18,930).

She is set to next see a judge on 21 August for an arraignment. Lange faces four counts of theft, three counts of financial exploitation of the elderly, three counts of financial institution fraud and three counts of aggravated identity theft. The State's Attorney's Office said that Lange's most serious charge is a class 1 felony.