A formerBromley City Council member has admitted to stealing money from nonprofit organizations and other customers of a Northern Kentucky bank where she worked as a branch manager.
Reagan France, 36, pleaded guilty in federal court in Covington on Sept. 10 to bank fraud, theft by a bank employee and aggravated identity theft.
Prosecutors said in a court filing that France began working in 2015 for the Home Savings Bank branch in Ludlow. She was promoted in 2023 to bank manager.
Over roughly two years starting in 2022, prosecutors said, France embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars through transactions on more than 20 customer accounts. She also used her position
at the bank to steal from two nonprofits for which she volunteered.
She resigned from the bank in late 2024. She said in court that she started at the bank as a part-time teller, then became a full-time employee before being promoted to branch manager.
City records show that France was sworn in as a member of Bromley City Council on Christmas Eve of 2020. She stepped down from the council in 2023.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Winslow said in court that, as part of the plea agreement, the government will move to dismiss 19 remaining counts France was charged with in an indictment filed in March.
In August 2024, the bank’s president noticed that the amount of cash in France’s teller drawer didn’t match the financial institution’s recorded transactions.
When she was confronted about the discrepancy, prosecutors said France responded that “she expected to be terminated from her employment at the bank.” An investigation revealed suspicious transactions on accounts maintained by France’s relatives.
Members of the nonprofits France volunteered for in Ludlow noticed similarly suspicious transactions on their accounts in early 2025. Prosecutors said that France used her position at the bank to make tens of thousands of dollars in unlawful transactions from those organizations’ accounts.
She later admitted to stealing money from the nonprofits and the thefts were reported to authorities, prompting an investigation, according to the plea agreement.
A forensic examination of the bank’s records showed that France misappropriated roughly $335,182, prosecutors said. Her theft scheme involved two distinct methods: transferring customers’ money to accounts she controlled and withdrawing cash from customer accounts.
Prosecutors said she used other bank employees' credentials to initiate the unlawful transactions and forged cash withdrawal slips to make them seem legitimate.
She also tried to conceal the transactions by transferring funds between customer accounts, in several instances using escrow funds owed to one customer to hide theft from another customer.
France is expected to appear before U.S. District Judge Chad Meredith for sentencing on Jan. 13. She faces up to 30 years for bank fraud and theft, as well as another two years for identity theft.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ex-NKY council member admits stealing from nonprofits she volunteered for
