Ronda Eames, 45, of Arnold has been indicted on 15 counts of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, according to U.S. District Court documents.
Each of the bank fraud charges is punishable by 30 years in prison, and identity theft carries a penalty of 10 years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
An arraignment hearing in the case is set for 2 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 19, said Terri Dougherty, public affairs specialist for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Eames is a former Arnold Chamber of Commerce president and board member and Arnold Kiwanis Club member.
Eames could not be reached for comment, and as of Dec. 12, an attorney had not been assigned to Eames’ case, according to a spokesman at Federal Public Defender Office in St. Louis.
Eames, who worked at Midland States Bank in Arnold when at least some of the alleged crimes occurred, was indicted Dec. 6 for allegedly falsifying bank documents to remove money from customer accounts and obtaining loans under her former husband’s name. The alleged crimes occurred from April 2015 through August 2018, according to court documents.
Eames allegedly obtained $19,224.65 with the false documentation, according to the indictment.
She was a personal banker at Midland States Bank in Arnold in February 2017 and was promoted to assistant banking center manger there in May 2018, court documents said.
From June 2018 to August 2018, Eames allegedly forged at least four withdrawal slips to remove money from two bank customers’ accounts, for a total of $6,795.60, court papers show.
From April 2015 to January 2018, she also allegedly falsely filled out at least five loan applications under her former husband’s name to obtain $6,698.49 in loans from three financial institutions, and she used her former husband’s name to secure a $605.56 loan from a federally insured financial institution, according to court papers.
In 2017, Eames allegedly used her former husband’s name to open several bank accounts at Midland States Bank, and she reportedly drafted, signed and negotiated six checks drawn on accounts that had her husband as the sole signatory without his knowledge, for a total of $5,125, the report said.