MADISON - A New Glarus woman was sentenced to 15 months in prison Monday in federal court for embezzling $114,820 from the Amcore Bank.
Abigail Eichelkraut, 26, had been an "honest, hardworking, law abiding" person, who was promoted to the assistant branch manager at Amcore's New Glarus location, said her attorney Erika Bierma.
Eichelkraut lived in the Albany, N.Y., area when she met David Eichelkraut on the Internet. She soon moved to Wisconsin and married Eichelkraut, according to court documents. Abigail Eichelkraut didn't have a drug, alcohol or gambling problem and didn't use the funds she embezzled between June 2005 and August 2008 to make "lavish or frivolous purchases," Bierma wrote in a sentencing memorandum.
Instead, Eichelkraut believed she needed to take care of the household's finances and began taking bank funds in order to "maintain a comfortable lifestyle," Bierma wrote.
"She got in over her head," Bierma told visiting District Judge James Moody.
In a sobbing statement to the court Eichelkraut said she "never intended to do this. ... The opportunity presented itself and I took advantage of it."
Based on Eichelkraut's lack of prior convictions and unlikelihood of re-offending, Bierma asked Moody to for a sentence of probation only.
Amcore Executive Vice President Tom Szmanda, didn't ask Moody for a specific sentence but said "we do not tolerate fraud," and he was "thoroughly disappointed" that Eichelkraut abused her position of trust at the bank.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Grant Johnson argued against probation only for Eichelkraut, saying the circumstances of her offense warranted a sentence within the 15-20 month advisory guideline range.
Moody agreed, stating a 15-month sentence followed by three years on supervised release would hold Eichelkraut accountable for her conduct and serve as a deterrent to others.
Moody continued Eichelkraut's release on conditions until Oct. 1 in order to finalize her pending divorce.
After court, Johnson couldn't specify how Eichelkraut embezzled and concealed the theft from supervisors but took funds on many occasions. She was caught when she took a vacation and wasn't able to maintain the deception, Johnson said.
Abigail Eichelkraut, 26, had been an "honest, hardworking, law abiding" person, who was promoted to the assistant branch manager at Amcore's New Glarus location, said her attorney Erika Bierma.
Eichelkraut lived in the Albany, N.Y., area when she met David Eichelkraut on the Internet. She soon moved to Wisconsin and married Eichelkraut, according to court documents. Abigail Eichelkraut didn't have a drug, alcohol or gambling problem and didn't use the funds she embezzled between June 2005 and August 2008 to make "lavish or frivolous purchases," Bierma wrote in a sentencing memorandum.
Instead, Eichelkraut believed she needed to take care of the household's finances and began taking bank funds in order to "maintain a comfortable lifestyle," Bierma wrote.
"She got in over her head," Bierma told visiting District Judge James Moody.
In a sobbing statement to the court Eichelkraut said she "never intended to do this. ... The opportunity presented itself and I took advantage of it."
Based on Eichelkraut's lack of prior convictions and unlikelihood of re-offending, Bierma asked Moody to for a sentence of probation only.
Amcore Executive Vice President Tom Szmanda, didn't ask Moody for a specific sentence but said "we do not tolerate fraud," and he was "thoroughly disappointed" that Eichelkraut abused her position of trust at the bank.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Grant Johnson argued against probation only for Eichelkraut, saying the circumstances of her offense warranted a sentence within the 15-20 month advisory guideline range.
Moody agreed, stating a 15-month sentence followed by three years on supervised release would hold Eichelkraut accountable for her conduct and serve as a deterrent to others.
Moody continued Eichelkraut's release on conditions until Oct. 1 in order to finalize her pending divorce.
After court, Johnson couldn't specify how Eichelkraut embezzled and concealed the theft from supervisors but took funds on many occasions. She was caught when she took a vacation and wasn't able to maintain the deception, Johnson said.