United States Attorney Ronald C. Gathe, Jr. announced that Eric Jason Schouest, age 53, of Plaquemine, Louisiana, pled guilty before U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles to embezzlement and bank fraud.
Schouest’s embezzlement and bank fraud convictions each carry a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, a fine of $1 million, and a period of supervised release.
According to admissions made during his plea, Schouest was employed at Regions Bank from 2010 to 2021 as a branch manager overseeing business transactions and practices at the Regions Bank Plank Road branch.
In his capacity as branch manager, he had the authority to access customer accounts, instruct others to open and close accounts, issue cashier’s checks, and transfer funds in and out of bank customers’ accounts.
From 2020 to April 2021, Schouest used his position at Regions Bank to embezzle funds from customer accounts and deposit the money into his personal bank accounts.
To cover his tracks, he sent false and fraudulent emails and forged documents to other Regions Bank employees.
Some of the traceable fraudulent funds were used to make loan payments on personal items such as a house and a car.
In total, Schouest misappropriated more than $250,000 from Regions customer bank accounts.
