Ex-Wheaton banker gets 53 months in prison for thefts

A former suburban banker was sentenced Friday to 53 months in prison for pilfering nearly $145,000 from customers who rarely checked their statements because they trusted her.

Amy R. Esposito, 42, of Wheaton, received the punishment after her earlier guilty plea to financial institution fraud. She faced a possible sentence of probation or four to 15 years in prison.

She is a former operations officer/senior personal banker for Community Bank - Wheaton/Glen Ellyn. Esposito began working for the bank in 1999 and was assigned to the Glen Ellyn location on Roosevelt Road.

Esposito admitted looting the accounts of eight customers for more than four years until her termination.

An internal bank investigation and audit began after an elderly customer's son spotted irregularities in his dad's account. Customers were reimbursed promptly, bank officials said.

In a tearful statement, Esposito said she stole the money out of desperation, not greed, while struggling with depression fueled by family problems. The mother of two sons said she was so filled with guilt and worry, she tried to overdose on pills after ending up in an Iowa motel. She later awoke in a hospital.

Esposito said she actually welcomed her arrest because it was the first step to ending her nightmare.

"I have since admitted to my offense and I am trying to find my way back into society through therapy for my depression and emotional support of family and friends," she said.

She spent the money on her own personal expenses, shopping, beauty services and to pay off her two sons' orthodontia, said Assistant State's Attorney Helen Kapas-Erdman, who heads the public integrity/financial crimes unit. The prosecution sought an eight-year prison term.

"The eight senior citizens who she selectively stole from were between 80 and 96 years old," Kapas-Erdman said. "She selectively embezzled from their 18 separate accounts because she knew they didn't check their monthly statements because they trusted her."

"The trail of evidence is long. She was living a good life."

Defense attorney Michelle Moore, who sought leniency, argued Esposito immediately cooperated with police and wanted to plead guilty from the start to try to right her wrong. Esposito did not have a prior criminal history.

"People loved her because she was a very warm and compassionate person," Moore said. "She was also deeply troubled, which led to the depression and the series of acts that she committed."

Esposito has remained in the DuPage County jail on a $500,000 bond since her April arrest.

DuPage Circuit Judge Perry Thompson sentenced Esposito to 53 months in prison, which is the same amount of time Esposito stole from her clients, between February 2004 and July 2008. She is eligible for parole after serving about half the prison term. She also receives credit for the nearly 200 days she's spent so far in jail.