Arvest Bank Files Civil Lawsuit Against Former Wagoner Employee

Former Arvest Bank branch manager in Wagoner is being sued for fraud. <br/><br/>The News on 6 spoke to Arvest customers who say they trusted friend and banker Rhonda Harris to take care of their money.

Friday, October 27th 2006, 6:14 am

By: News On 6

Former Arvest Bank branch manager in Wagoner is being sued for fraud.

The News on 6 spoke to Arvest customers who say they trusted friend and banker Rhonda Harris to take care of their money. Now that woman is suspected of taking it.

Terry Crawford says he didn't think anything was wrong with his accounts, until he got an overdraft notice. When he went down to the bank, he found out his CD no longer existed. Arvest Bank leaders told Crawford, Rhonda Harris, the branch manager had been fired and they believed she was behind the missing money.

Harris has not been charged with a crime. But Arvest has filed a lawsuit against Harris claiming she embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars from several customers.

Terry Crawford: "they told me what had happened and I couldn't hardly believe it. I just didnâ€™t expect that."

Arvest would not say how much money was taken or how many customers were involved. But they're reviewing all accounts, and promise customers will not lose any money.

Bank leaders say in this case, trust in one person may have worked against customers. So it's a good idea to vary the tellers you work with.