SAC CITY - Federal prosecutors have charged a Sac City woman with stealing $4 million through a fraud scheme in which she reportedly sold bogus certificates of deposit, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Iowa announced Thursday.
Charlene M. Pickhinke, 48, has been charged with wire fraud, making a false statement in a bank's books and records, money laundering and aggravated identity theft, the attorney's office reported.
According to the attorney's office, Pickhinke sold more than 40 fraudulent certificates of deposit between 1995 and 2008. She claimed she was selling those certificates for her employer, MetaBank, which is based in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Prosecutors also accuse Pickhinke of opening two bank accounts using the names and Social Security numbers of deceased bank customers. In court documents, federal prosecutors allege that she used those bank accounts to launder the money she received from the certificate of deposit scheme.
A phone call to Pickhinke's Sac City home was not immediately returned.
She has not yet made an initial appearance in Federal Court.
If convicted of all charges Pickhinke faces up to 82 years in prison, an $8 million fine and a $400 special assessment. She would also face five years of supervised release following any prison term.
Pickhinke was the branch manager for the Lake View office of MetaBank.
Iowa State Bank purchased that MetaBank branch in May 2007, along with MetaBank branches in Odebolt and Sac City.
''Our bank didn't have any issues with what took place and we were not a part of it,'' said Steve Spotts, president of Iowa State Bank. ''It was with her former employer, MetaBank.''
Spotts said that after the purchase by Iowa State Bank, Pickhinke remained employed there until she resigned in December 2007.
Contact Bill Shea at (515) 573-2141 or bshea@messengernews.net