Former Teller Sentenced to More Than 2 Years After Pleading Guilty to Embezzling $119k From Elderly Customer at Norfolk Bank

NORFOLK, Va. — Imani Monet Adams, 31, was sentenced on Friday to serve two years and two months in prison after she pleaded guilty to four counts of felony forgery and four counts of felony embezzlement from when she cashed thousands of dollars-worth of forged withdrawal slips from an elderly account holder at the bank where Ms. Adams worked.

While working at the JANAF branch of a local bank between late 2018 and early 2019, Ms. Adams forged the 85-year-old victim’s name on withdrawal slips and withdrew cash from the victim’s account 16 times, stealing a total of $119,000. The victim eventually noticed the money missing from her account and contacted the bank, which started an internal investigation and determined that Ms. Adams was the culprit. The company then reported Ms. Adams’ crime, shared their findings with Norfolk Police, and restored the full $119,000 to the victim’s account.

Following the police investigation in early 2019, the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office secured 32 indictments from a Norfolk grand jury against Ms. Adams for 16 counts of felony forgery and 16 counts of felony embezzlement.

On Aug. 20, Ms. Adams entered an agreement to plead guilty to four counts each of forgery and embezzlement and pay the full amount of $119,000 in restitution to the bank. No agreement was extended for Ms. Adams’ sentence. Judge Jamilah D. LeCruise accepted Ms. Adams’ plea agreement and found her guilty of the eight felony charges. Ms. Adams had no criminal record prior to committing these crimes.

After hearing arguments from the prosecutor and Ms. Adams’ defense counsel, Judge LeCruise sentenced Ms. Adams to serve two years and two months in prison and suspended another six years and 10 months to serve on the conditions that Ms. Adams be of uniform good behavior and comply with supervised probation for two years following her release and that she continue to pay restitution to the bank.

“Ms. Adams stole a large amount of money breathtakingly quickly,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “While I am thankful that the bank caught Ms. Adams and made the customer whole, the scale and seriousness of Ms. Adams’s crimes — even though her first offenses — earned her every day of her trip to prison. We will continue to prosecute and hold accountable people who steal by abusing the trust of their employers and customers.”

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney A. Robinson Winn prosecuted Ms. Adams’ case, and former Norfolk Police Detective Wynter L. Edwards led the investigation.

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Aug. 23, 2024

Former Norfolk Bank Teller Pleads Guilty to Embezzling $119k From Elderly Customer

NORFOLK, Va. — Imani Monet Adams, 30, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to four counts of felony forgery and four counts of felony embezzlement after she cashed thousands of dollars-worth of forged withdrawal slips from an elderly account holder at the bank where Ms. Adams worked.

While working at the JANAF branch of a local bank between late 2018 and early 2019, Ms. Adams forged the 85-year-old victim’s name on withdrawal slips and withdrew cash from the victim’s account 16 times, stealing a total of $119,000. The victim eventually noticed the money missing from her account and contacted the bank, which started an internal investigation and determined that Ms. Adams was the culprit. The company then reported Ms. Adams’ crime, shared their findings with Norfolk Police, and restored the full $119,000 to the victim’s account.

In early 2019, the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office secured 32 indictments from a Norfolk grand jury against Ms. Adams for 16 counts of felony forgery and 16 counts of felony embezzlement. On Tuesday, Ms. Adams entered a plea agreement to plead guilty to four counts each of forgery and embezzlement and pay the full amount of $119,000 in restitution to the bank. No agreement has been made for Ms. Adams’ sentence, which will be argued before Judge Jamilah D. LeCruise on Oct. 18.

“Ms. Adams committed a double breach of trust: First her duty to her bank’s elderly accountholder to safeguard her life savings, and second her duty to employer to act honestly and faithfully,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “We take the financial exploitation of our senior citizens and other vulnerable people seriously, and we will seek an appropriate prison sentence for Ms. Adams when the time comes.”

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney A. Robinson Winn is prosecuting Ms. Adams’ case on behalf of the Commonwealth, and former Norfolk Police Detective Wynter L. Edwards led the investigation.

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