Arkansas Grandmother Who Embezzled Bank Funds to Gamble at Casino Sentenced

Article ByDavid Weir

August 31, 2023

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Posted in: Arkansas Gambling News, US Casino News, US Gambling Crime News

A 63-year-old grandmother and bank teller from Arkansas has been sentenced to federal prison for embezzling $300,000 from her employer.

The thefts, which took place at the Premier Bank of Arkansas (PBA) between 2019 and 2020, were largely motivated by the teller’s gambling addiction.

Investigators found that Pamela Cooper gambled $311,000 at the Southland Casino in West Memphis, which is one of only three Arkansas brick and mortar casinos.

U.S. District Judge James M. Moody Jr. gave Cooper a sentence of one year and a day in federal prison in a hearing at The Arkansas Federal Courthouse in Little Rock (pictured).

“You can’t steal over $300,000 and not expect some prison sentence,” said Moody before imposing the sentence, as reported by The Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette.

The Crime Unveiled

Cooper, of Marion, Arkansas, was employed as a teller at the PBA branch in the city, which is part of the Memphis metropolitan area.

Cooper’s illicit activities came to light when an internal audit at the bank in November 2020 revealed a $200,000 discrepancy in its funds.

A subsequent deeper investigation into the bank’s teller drawers and recycler machines, devices that dispense cash to tellers similarly to how ATMs serve bank customers, found an additional $94,000 missing.

When Cooper’s personal teller drawer was audited, it was found to contain just $5,000, instead of the $25,000 that was supposed to be present. It was later discovered that Cooper had been manipulating funds and altering records to obscure the evidence of her thefts.

The audit also revealed that Cooper was the sole employee with access to the vault and the recycler, making her the prime suspect.

Just Hit it Big at the Casino

An FBI investigation shed light on Cooper’s gambling habits, revealing that she had lost a total of $311,925 at the nearby Southland Casino over a span of just over a year, from November 2019 to December 2020. This amount closely matched the funds she had embezzled from the bank.

Cooper’s attorney, Molly Sullivan, highlighted that her client had sought mental health counseling for her gambling addiction following the arrest.

“Ms. Cooper will be 64 next week, and up to this point, she has led a law-abiding life,” Sullivan said.

“An addiction to gambling doesn’t justify her behavior here. But I think it explains what happened. Her access to funds and her thought process that — ‘I’ll just hit it big at the casino and pay that money back’ — that didn’t happen here, obviously.”

The Verdict

While Cooper’s defense emphasized her mental health challenges, remorse, and previously unblemished record, the prosecution saw things differently. Assistant U.S. Attorney Will Crow argued that a prison sentence was entirely justified.

“It would be a miscarriage of justice for her to steal $314,000 and not spend a day in jail,” Crow said. “You can’t steal hundreds of thousands of dollars and not get significant prison time.”

Ultimately, she could have seen up to 30 years in prison. However Judge Moody decided on some lenience. Under federal law, any sentence over one year is eligible for good behavior credits that can take up to 15% of a sentence.

Even with that possibility, Cooper will be turning 64 next week while in federal prison. Southland Casino, operated by New York-based hospitality giant Delaware North, has not yet commented on the case.