Bank’s ex-teller charged in $1 million fraud pleads guilty

A former bank teller has pleaded guilty to stealing at least $400,000 from her employer, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office says she took more than $1 million.

The amount taken will be determined at Karen L. Baer’s sentencing hearing Oct. 3.

According to her plea deal, Baer worked at PNC bank or its predecessors, Westminster Union Bank and Mercantile Bank, from 1998 to October 2007. She took cash from the 140 Village Shopping Center branch in

Baer told FBI agents she used the money for vacations and college tuition for her children. She agreed to forfeit her interest in a home, nine bank accounts, a Hummer, a Corvette, and several snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles.

She faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.