VIDEO – Police: Texas Bank Teller Stole $180K from Elderly Woman Who Trusted Her ‘Like a Daughter’

A bank teller in Houston, Texas, is accused of stealing $180,000 from an elderly customer.

The 86-year-old victim apparently trusted the 29-year-old bank teller “like a daughter” prior to the alleged theft, ABC 7 reported Friday.

Now, officials are trying to find the young woman accused in the alleged crime, which occurred this year over a five-month period.

An image shows the suspect, identified as Cecilia Hope Brown, who faces a second-degree felony charge of aggregate theft from an elderly person:

Cecilia Hope Brown built a rapport with an 86-year-old woman, who was a regular at the Frost Bank on Kirby Drive in the Rice Village area, and drained her bank account from $180,000 to $1.50, according to HPD. Brown hasn't been arrested. The full story: https://t.co/wHUws7DSJF pic.twitter.com/7CYPH2627o

— ABC13 Houston (@abc13houston) December 15, 2023

Charging documents state that Brown built a rapport with the elderly customer, who regularly came into the Frost Bank.

An investigation was opened when the victim questioned why her Frost Bank IRA account that was supposed to have $180,000 in it was down to $1.50, the ABC 7 report continued:

In a charging document, the older woman claimed she hadn’t been a recent fraud victim and that she didn’t give anyone access to her account except for a bank employee named Cecilia, later identified as Cecilia Hope Brown. The older woman also said she never gave Brown permission to make withdrawals.

 A bank supervisor told authorities she watched surveillance video of the suspect taking money out of the vault. Brown apparently claimed she took the money to the victim in her car several times, but there was no video evidence of that happening.

According to a charging document, “Brown took cash stacks out of the vault, hid them underneath papers, walked them out to a teller counter, and stored the money beneath it. She’s then seen leaving the bank with boxes from the counter,” the ABC 7 article said, noting the bank placed the young woman on administrative leave.

The victim’s money was later reimbursed.

According to the Texas Attorney General’s website, financial exploitation can be perpetrated by employees, caregivers, and relatives who steal from elderly citizens.

The site notes, “Employees who deal directly with seniors in banks are uniquely positioned to detect and prevent financial abuse of this kind.”

The American Bankers Association lists numerous ways in which senior citizens can protect themselves from financial abuse.

In June, Breitbart News reported that caregivers and loved ones across America are robbing senior citizens of $20.3 billion annually, while another $8 billion a year is being taken by strangers.