Feb. 16, 2012: RF bank employee charged with theft

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A former bank teller at River Falls State Bank has been charged by the Pierce County district attorney with stealing money from the bank last year.

Holly M. Davidson, 21, 2164 Rushmore Drive, was charged with two counts of theft -- one a felony, the other a misdemeanor.

(Davidson is not related to River Falls State Bank President and CEO Dan Davison.)

She will make an initial appearance in Pierce County Circuit Court at 10 a.m. Monday, March 12.

The estimated cash theft from the bank is roughly $11,400. According to the criminal complaint, the money appears to have gone missing somewhere between Oct. 26 and Dec. 21.

The missing cash has not been recovered.

“The loss was discovered through normal audit procedures very shortly after it occurred,” Davison said. “No customer accounts or customer information was involved.”

River Falls police were alerted to the theft by bank officials, including Davison, in late December.

Holly Davidson had worked at River Falls Bank for six years, including as a part-timer while still in high school and then while in college at UW-River Falls.

She later seems to have dropped out of college. There was an attempt by the state to garnish her wages to repay tuition.

In the complaint it says Davidson had an excellent work record until about a year ago when some personal issues, including an illness, developed.

On Dec. 28, Davidson’s cash drawer showed it should have a balance of $11,880. Inside the drawer, however, was only $438.

The bank began an internal investigation, then went to the police. Davidson was asked to account for the missing money.

The complaint says Davidson at first couldn’t explain the cash-drawer discrepancy.

Later she said she’d taken some of the money from her cash drawer, placed it in a plastic basket and put the basket in the vault with a note saying it was from Holly.

The vault was searched. The money wasn’t found.

Davidson then said she left the money on a cabinet next to a counter in the bank’s drive-up area.

Despite a second search, no money was ever found on the cabinet or anywhere else. Davidson was then fired.

Just before that she admitted being responsible for the missing cash and asked if quitting her job at the bank would make it “easier.”

Bank audit records and Davidson’s work schedule were reviewed as part of the police investigation to determine when and how the cash thefts occurred.

In one instance, a teller colleague said Davidson insisted on helping her Dec. 8 with transactions at the drive-up window. The teller said she didn’t need Davidson’s help, but Davidson kept using her machine.

The teller said when she had to balance her machine and money at the end of her work shift, she was short $500.

Bank video surveillance of Davidson, including her leaving the bank alone after it closed on Dec. 21 with something under her arm, was part of the circumstantial evidence described in the complaint.

The $11,000-plus theft has been reported to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) as well as to the River Falls State Bank’s insurance company.

Because of the bank’s deductible, the losses from the theft aren’t covered.

The felony against Davidson carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine.

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