NEWS RELEASE
GREGORY G. LOCKHART
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Fred Alverson
614 469-5715
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/ohs
<http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/ohs>
Former J.P. Morgan Employee Stole More Than $1 Million from Bank, Customers
DAYTON, OHIO— Nicole Johnson, age 42, of Trotwood, was sentenced in United States District Court here today to a total of 100 months imprisonment for stealing millions of dollars from her employer and her employer’s company.
Gregory G. Lockhart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Keith L. Bennett, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigations, and Jose Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, announced the sentence delivered today by District Judge Thomas M. Rose.
Johnson pleaded guilty on November 13, 2007 to one count each of bank fraud, money laundering and falsifying a tax return. According to the indictment entered in June 2007, a federal grand jury charged that Johnson stole millions from J.P. Morgan Bank and its customers between June 2001 and July 2005, using her position as Vice President of Operations to steal customer identity information and secure fraudulent lines of credit in their names, and then diverting the borrowed funds for her own personal use. At least 30 customers were affected by the scheme and more than $1 million was transferred into Johnson’s personal accounts during the four-year period.
Johnson’s sentence includes two concurrent 100 month prison terms for the bank fraud and money laundering convictions, along with a concurrent term of 36 months imprisonment for the tax fraud conviction. Johnson was also ordered to pay restitution of more than $2.8 million to J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, pay $1.067 million in taxes to the IRS, and she must serve three years of supervised release at the conclusion of her prison term.
“Johnson’s sentence reflects the severity of the loss to J.P. Morgan Bank and the complexity of the fraud scheme,” said Lockhart. “White collar criminals must be deterred from committing similar offenses.”
Lockhart commended the investigation by the FBI and IRS, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brent Tabacchi and Mona Guerrier, who prosecuted the case.