Officials: Bank Scarpelli managed had trouble keeping appropriate cash level

What she allegedly bought

Amy Scarpelli and her friends gambled, vacationed and spent freely, according to a federal complaint. Here’s a breakdown of how officials say the $5.2 million was spent:

More online: Read the criminal complaint and view photos of items officials say Scarpelli and her friends purchased with the embezzled funds at MyDaytonDailyNews.com.

More online: Read the criminal complaint and view photos of items officials say Scarpelli and her friends purchased with the embezzled funds at MyDaytonDailyNews.com.

Key points:

Update@12:26 p.m., Oct. 10: There were always hints of trouble at the U.S. Bank branch that Amy Scarpelli managed, according to the affidavits.

“After the embezzlement was discovered, bank employees told (Secret Service) Agent (Matthew) Schierloh that they finally understood why they always had so much trouble keeping the appropriate level of cash in the bank,” one affidavit said.

And the branch’s cash levels were higher when Scarpelli was on vacation, investigators said.

“It seems like the system failed on a number of different opportunities because of this woman,” said Julie Conroy, research director for Aite Group’s retail banking practice. Boston-based Aite is a research and advisory firm serving financial services businesses.

Most banks watch credit reports on employees an annual basis, Conroy said. The idea is to monitor whether employees are experiencing financial distress or spending substantially more than they earn, she said.

Reporter Tom Gnau has been working on this story all week. In Sunday’s Dayton Daily News he will tell you more about how Scarpelli was able to get away with the alleged embezzlement for so long, and how officials cracked the case.

FIRST TAKE:

For four years, Amy Scarpelli deftly traded fake loans with fake repayments in an elaborate financial scheme that allowed her to walk out of the Miamisburg bank branch she managed with real bundles of cash, according to federal investigators.

That embezzled cash, according to investigators, fueled an extravagant lifestyle for a U.S. Bank branch manager making no more than $69,000 a year.

“They gambled extensively, traveled frequently and treated their large social network of friends that revolved around their house in West Carrollton and the campground, and lake house at Lake Waynoka, Ohio to drinking and dining and cruises,” one federal investigator’s 68-page affidavit says of Scarpelli and her friends. The friends — Melanie McCully, Deanna Leis and her father Charles Leis — are mentioned in the affidavit, but none has been charged with a crime.

Scarpelli and friends traveled, going on annual cruises, investigators allege. But back in Ohio, their purchases included a $200,000 lake house and a $72,000 pole barn to house their “toys,” says the affidavit, which was made public Tuesday, five days after Scarpelli’s arrest.

Those toys, according to the affidavit, included four campers, three boats (two pontoon boats and a ski-boat), six motorcycles, a full-size Nissan truck, a golf cart and a pair of “classic cars,” including late 1960s Chevrolet Camaros.

The affidavit features photos of these vehicles, as well as homes, the barn and vacations — all from a legitimate income from U.S. Bank of $61,000 to $69,000 a year since 2009, investigators say.

The ex-branch manager used the bank’s rules and her own access and authority to steal cash in small enough batches to avoid federal reporting requirements, federal investigators charge.

One affidavit filed in federal court against Scarpelli identifies 12 crimes for which it says there is “probable cause to believe” have been committed.

Scarpelli, 48, was arrested on Oct. 2. Her attorney, Dennis Gump, noted that neither Scarpelli nor anyone linked to her has been indicted, and he said her position is that she is not guilty of any crime.

She remains in Butler County Jail in Hamilton, at least in part because federal authorities say her properties are subject to civil forfeiture. She has no “verifiable address” to which to be released pending trial, prosecutors said.

Attempts to reach McCully and Deanna Leis were not successful. A phone number for Scarpelli’s Mallet Club address in Dayton has been disconnected.

Casino ‘icons’

Audits of cashier’s checks flowing from Scarpelli’s branch eventually led to deeper investigations and her arrest last week.

A message seeking comment on bank safeguards and reporting mechanisms was sent Wednesday to Dana Ripley, a U.S. Bancorp spokesman. “Per our policy, we do not comment on open investigations,” Ripley replied.

Scarpelli and her friends took pains to launder or hide the source of the embezzlement, federal investigators allege.

For example, their house on Dinsmore Road in West Carrollton and their house at Lake Waynoka are both titled in the names of people other than Scarpelli, according to the government.

Scarpelli also deposited money into the accounts of her friends, who had accounts at U.S. Bank, according to the affidavit.

She spent plenty of time gambling with Deanna Leis at casinos, including Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg, Ind. during daytime work hours, investigators say.

According to the criminal complaint offered by the government, Deanna Leis, from 2009 through the present, had been unemployed while she spent $7,702,695.22 in “coins in” — money spent at slot machines, including players’ cards.

Scarpelli and Leis each gambled so much at Hollywood Casino that they each were awarded “icon” status at the casino, investigators say.

“Hollywood Casino designates someone as an ‘icon’ status player if the player has logged in over $400,000 of ‘coin in’ the past six months,” the affidavit says. “If the player does not log in over $400,000 of coin in during the next six months, they lose their ‘icon’ status.”