Melissa Strohman Charged in $1.8M Bank Heist Scheme

Melissa Strohman, 54, of Nottingham, Maryland, is staring down federal charges for a brazen six-year scheme to steal over $1.8 million from customer accounts at a Maryland federal savings bank. The former Senior Vice President faces counts of bank embezzlement and wire fraud, accused of turning her position of trust into a personal piggy bank.

From April 2010 through July 2016, Strohman managed the bank’s savings department, overseeing deposits and Individual Retirement Accounts—holding the financial lives of hundreds in her hands. As the institution’s designated Bank Secrecy Officer, she was supposed to report suspicious transactions. Instead, authorities say she became the most dangerous transaction of all.

The criminal information details how Strohman allegedly used her supervisory override privileges to funnel money from six victim accounts into her own pockets. Funds were redirected to cover her mortgage, credit card bills, and property taxes. Three of the defrauded customers were at least 80 years old. Two were deceased—making their drained accounts even more grotesque.

Investigators allege Strohman forged signatures, manipulated internal transfers, and laundered stolen cash through a web of accounts to cover her tracks. She reportedly moved money from Person One and Person Two’s accounts to pay American Express bills tied to her name, forged Person Two’s signature to seal the theft, and backfilled accounts belonging to Person Three through Person Five to hide the paper trail.

Now, Strohman faces a maximum of 30 years in prison for bank embezzlement and up to 20 years for wire fraud. No court date has been set in U.S. District Court in Baltimore. If convicted, she won’t be bailing herself out of jail with customer funds.

A criminal information has been filed, not a conviction. Melissa Strohman is presumed innocent until proven guilty. U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the FDIC Office of Inspector General and FBI for their relentless work. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Philip A. Selden and Evan T. Shea are prosecuting the case.