Columbia, South Carolina---- United States Attorney W. WALTER WILKINS stated that Francesca N. Miller, age 22, of Columbia, was sentenced today in federal court for embezzling money from First Citizens Bank. United States District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie sentenced Miller to four months imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release.

Miller pled guilty to having stolen approximately $12,000 from First Citizens, where she had been employed as a teller. The theft was identified when a customer of the bank reported an unauthorized $9,000 transaction involving his account. During the course of conducting an investigation into this report, bank officials learned that Miller had made a false entry into the customer's account to conceal a series of thefts that were ultimately determined to total $12,000.

The case was investigated by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Dean A. Eichelberger of the Columbia office handled the case.