Kansas City Woman Sentenced for Embezzling From Bank

A Kansas City woman was sentenced to nearly two years in prison without parole for stealing from a bank where she worked.

Federal prosecutors announced Thursday that 36-year-old Elisha Nicole Araiza was sentenced to 21 months and ordered to pay $213,090 in restitution to Bank of America.

She pleaded guilty in April to embezzlement.

Araiza worked as a portfolio officer on the Small Business Accounts Team at Bank of America, which involved working with small businesses on financial questions.

She admitted that she deposited a bank customer's money in her own account in July 2011 because her account was overdrawn. The diversion of client checks to her account continued until the embezzlement was discovered in March 2015.

Bank of America found 121 loan payment checks diverted to Araiza's personal account.