Tiffany Culliver Franklin, Embezzlement, Alabama 2012

MOBILE, AL – Tiffany Culliver Franklin, 41, of Montgomery, Alabama, is headed to federal prison for 37 months after being convicted of a brazen series of financial crimes stretching back years. The sentencing, handed down by Chief United States District Judge L. Scott Coogler, closes a case exposing a pattern of theft and deception across multiple employers.

Franklin’s crimes began between January 2012 and December 2014 while employed at a Wells Fargo branch in Montgomery. Prosecutors proved she exploited her position to pilfer from an elderly customer, using her credentials to create a debit card linked to the victim’s account. She then deposited worthless checks, immediately withdrawing the funds – a classic, callous scheme targeting the vulnerable.

But Franklin didn’t stop there. From June 2015 to July 2017, while working as a vault teller at Branch Banking and Trust Company (BB&T) in Montgomery, she embezzled $202,000. A written confession to a BB&T investigator revealed the stolen money wasn’t squirreled away; it was blown at casinos. The lure of the tables proved too strong, even as she betrayed the trust of her employer and customers.

Even after the BB&T scheme unraveled, Franklin continued her fraudulent behavior. Between September 2017 and June 2018, as a bookkeeper for Goodwyn Middle School (GMS) in Montgomery, she stole over $13,000 in funds and property. This included money collected from teachers and proceeds from school athletic events. She also misused a GMS-issued store credit card for personal purchases, further demonstrating a complete disregard for the law.

Judge Coogler didn’t just impose a prison sentence. Franklin will also serve a five-year term of supervised release after her incarceration, with strict credit restrictions and a permanent ban from the financial services industry. The court also ordered her to pay $216,416 in restitution to her victims and $600 in special assessments, a small price for the damage she inflicted.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and the Alabama Attorney General’s Office, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sinan Kalayoglu and Justin Roller leading the prosecution for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama. U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello announced the sentencing, a stark reminder that financial crimes, no matter how complex, will be pursued and punished.

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