St. George Man Pleads Guilty to Embezzling Bank Funds

ST. GEORGE, UT—Gavin Larkin, age 35, of St. George, Utah, pled guilty Monday to one count of embezzlement and misapplication of bank funds in federal court in St. George.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert T. Braithwaite set sentencing in the case for Dec. 7, 2010. The maximum potential penalty for the conviction is 30 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine.

According to court documents, Larkin was an officer at U.S. Bank in St. George from around April 2008 to August 2008. During that period, Larkin admitted he knowingly embezzled and willfully misapplied approximately $200,000 in bank funds and did so with the intent to defraud the bank.

Specifically, Larkin admitted that he approved a line of credit and a checking account under the name St. George Legal Documents (SGLD). Larkin had access to and control over SGLD’s line of credit and checking account. On an ongoing basis, Larkin said he drew funds from SGLD’s line of credit, transferred those funds to SGLD’s checking account, and obtained cashier’s checks from the SGLD checking account for his personal use and benefit.

According to the plea agreement, on one occasion Larkin obtained a cashier’s check in the amount of $19,500 drawn on the SGLD checking account for his personal use, knowing that the funds were entrusted to U.S. Bank’s care and custody.

The case is being investigated and prosecuted by the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in St. George.