Former teller admits stealing nearly $500K from Malta, Queensbury banks

ALBANY — A former head teller at KeyBank branches in Malta and Queensbury admitted Wednesday to embezzling nearly half a million dollars from the financial institution.

Caitlin Kenney, 33, of Queensbury, pleaded guilty to a charge of theft by a bank officer or employee in federal court.

Kenney admitted to taking a total of $483,784 from the company between September 2013 and February 2017, according to her federal plea agreement.

She took just over $400,000 of that while working at the Queensbury branch between September 2013 and October 2016, the agreement states. The bank then moved her to the Malta branch, where she took another $75,000 between December 2016 and February 2017.

The thefts involved the bank’s cash boxes and vaults, the agreement states. Kenney admitted she transferred cash from the vaults to cash boxes and then removed the cash.

In the process, she used her employee credentials and made entries showing the transfer of the cash to a particular cash box. She then stole the money. The Queensbury cash box started with a balance of $14,532.99. After her transfers and subsequent thefts, only $122.99 remained in the box, the agreement states.

She made similar moves at the Malta branch, the plea agreement states.

Kenney left the bank in early 2017. The thefts weren’t discovered until about a year later, according to her attorney, Frederick Rench.

The plea agreement did not give a motive for the thefts or detail what became of the money. Rench would not elaborate on that later Wednesday.

Rench, however, called Kenny “a model citizen” who was “under a great deal of personal stress.” He did not describe that stress further.

“She made a grave error in judgement,” Rench said.

Kenney faces a maximum possible term of 30 years in prison, though guidelines suggest a term of between 1 year, 9 months and 2 years, 3 months, Rench said. She would also be able to appeal any sentence longer than 3 years, 1 month, according to the agreement.

Kenney is to be sentenced in May.

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