ENCINO : Ex-Bank Officer Gets 18-Month Sentence

The former chief financial officer of American West Bank was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison and ordered to pay back the $305,192.88 he swindled from the institution over a four-year period.

Michael Leon, 37, of Riverside County, had faced up to 90 years in prison after pleading guilty to his crimes, but he got a more lenient sentence from U. S. District Judge Mariana Pfaelzer because he cooperated with prosecutors, authorities said.

The sentence “was within the range that the plea agreement envisioned,” said Special Assistant U. S. Atty. Steven Jay Katzman.

Leon began diverting funds from the general ledger, operating and expense accounts of American West Bank in January, 1989, according to court records. Leon then purchased cashiers’ checks and money orders and deposited them into his personal checking account or paid off creditors, Katzman said.

Among other personal expenses, Leon used the money to pay $1,269 in charges on his American Express credit card in 1991 and $6,250 for a membership at the Porter Valley Country Club in 1993, records show.

During the time of the theft, Leon was moving up the bank’s corporate ladder, rising from an assistant vice president to chief financial officer, records show.

With that position came almost sole responsibility for the preparation and approval of the bank’s general ledger entries, reconciliation of the general ledger and payment of the bank’s bills. Leon also had the authority to issue cashiers’ checks and money orders on behalf of American West Bank.