A former manager of the
BMO Harris Bank branch in Muskego has agreed to plea guilty to embezzling $233,616 from the business, according to court records.
Court records show that Chelsea Hopf has been charged with one count of theft/embezzlement by a bank officer. She faces up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million. As part of her guilty plea, she will also be required to pay restitution in the amount of $233,616 to BMO Harris Bank.
Hopf was hired by BMO Harris Bank in 2009 and promoted to bank manager in 2016. On Jan. 30, 2020, an audit was conducted at the Muskego branch location by other BMO personnel. During the audit, four teller drawers were found to be $201,616 short. Hopf had previously conducted audits herself.
Hopf was later interviewed by BMO officials regarding the teller drawer shortage. During that interview, Hopf said she had been stealing money from the bank for about two years, according to court documents.
Bank records showed that Hopf created fictitious deposits into various BMO Harris bank accounts. When these fictitious deposits were credited to the bank accounts, Hopf would create a false entry in the bank's computer system, specifically to one of her four cash drawers, to account for the fictitious cash deposit. This artificially increased the cash balance of the teller drawers within the BMO computer system because no real cash was deposited. She then withdrew real cash, balancing the apparent funds in the BMO system but creating a real-life shortage in the teller drawer kit. Court documents state Hopf stole a total of $233,616 from the bank.
