MADISON, WIS. — Jeffrey M. Anderson, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Zachary Schmelzer, 20, Madison, Wis., was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to one month of imprisonment, a $5,000 fine, and four months of home detention following his incarceration, for embezzling from a bank. Schmelzer pleaded guilty to two counts of embezzlement by bank employee on June 26, 2017.
Schmelzer was a teller at an Associated Bank branch in Madison from November 2014 until December 4, 2015. In December 2015, the bank discovered that $10,000 was missing from a cash-dispensing machine. The bank confronted Schmelzer, and he confessed to taking the money. However, Schmelzer had been taking funds from depositors and other tellers’ drawers throughout his tenure, including taking approximately $24,000 from the deposits of a commercial customer. Schmelzer spent the funds on lavish expenses, including international travel, expensive restaurants, Audi lease payments, and jewelry.
Judge Conley found that the breadth of Schmelzer’s violation of trust was staggering. He hid his actions from his employer and lied to his supervisor about the extent of his theft. As part of his conditions of supervised release, Schmelzer is prohibited from seeking or maintaining any employment that includes unsupervised financial or fiduciary duties, and he is required to notify future employers of his conviction.
The charges against Schmelzer were the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Antonio M. Trillo.
