The Office of the Attorney General has filed 35 criminal charges against Joanna Mendiola Torres, a former Bank of Guam employee who allegedly stole $18,145 from the bank account of her sister while the sister was undergoing medical treatment off island. <\/p>\n
Chief Prosecutor Brian Flaherty filed an information yesterday charging the 42-year-old Torres with one count of theft and 34 counts of forgery.<\/p>\n
According to court papers, Torres stole a total of $18,145 from Jerilyn Torres Teregeyo between May 23, 2014, and July 25, 2014.<\/p>\n
Flaherty said the suspect, while employed with Bank of Guam, forged Teregeyo\u2019s signature 34 times in a Bank of Guam\u2019s savings withdrawal form to steal the money from the victim\u2019s saving account.<\/p>\n
Torres appeared with her counsel, assistant public defender Benjamin Petersburg, at the preliminary hearing yesterday afternoon. Petersburg told the court that Torres waives her right to a preliminary hearing.<\/p>\n
Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho ordered Torres to appear at the arraignment on Monday, Oct. 6. <\/p>\n
Police detective Andrew S. Taimanao stated in his report that Koban Unit police officers were dispatched to the Bank of Guam last Sept. 15 in response to a theft case.<\/p>\n
Taimanao said the investigation showed that a bank customer called the bank and reported that money was missing from his wife\u2019s bank account.<\/p>\n
The bank\u2019s internal investigation discovered that their then-employee Torres stole the victim\u2019s money by forging her signature several times.<\/p>\n
The bank terminated Torres on Sept. 12 due to the findings.<\/p>\n
The bank returned to the victim\u2019s husband the entire missing amount. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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