Former bank employee charged with embezzlement

Local News

February 1, 2010

By Amelia Pridemore

A former Fayette County bank employee suspected of embezzling the bank’s funds is in jail, authorities said.

Jeremiah Raymond Perdue, 30, of Oak Hill, is charged with one count of embezzlement and 11 counts of falsifying bank or account records, Sheriff Steve Kessler said. Perdue was being held at Southern Regional Jail on $50,000 bond.

Kessler said the sheriff’s office received a complaint from Fayette County National Bank officials Dec. 22. The complaint concerned a former employee who was suspected of embezzling funds while he still worked there. The detective bureau conducted an investigation.

Charges against Perdue were filed after that investigation, Kessler said.

Kessler said bank officials detected the theft pattern and promptly notified law enforcement. Perdue, he noted, was not a longtime employee.

“The staff of Fayette County National Bank is very diligent in protecting their customers and the reputation of the bank,” Kessler said. “Bank officials worked closely with our detectives to provide us with all of the information needed to substantiate these allegations and file these criminal charges.”