MAY 15, 2015
VESTABURG, MICH. (WOOD)
A long-time branch manager of a bank in northeastern
Montcalm County has been arrested for allegedly embezzling funds through
fraudulent loans and several cases of identity theft.
Sandra Kay Ebright of Elwell has been charged with one count
of embezzlement and 17-counts of identity theft. She has been arraigned and is
being held at the Montcalm County Jail.
Ebright has also been fired after 31-years of service at the
Mercantile Bank, located at 9002 E Howard City Edmore Road in Vestaburg.
Detectives were notified by corporate officials on March 25
that Ebright was suspected of embezzling funds through fraudulent loans.
Bank records showed that Ebright, over the course of several
years, drew up a number of loans in the names of customers without them
knowing. She would keep the money for herself and make payments on the loans to
try to keep them from being discovered.
Ebright may never have been caught if it wasn’t for Melinda
Arntz.
A few years ago, Arntz said she wanted to trade in her Jeep
to get a new car.
She went to the Mercantile Bank in Vestaburg which had just
bought out First bank. She went to the manager she had known for years to redo
her loan.
“I got the payment book in the mall. And a couple of weeks
later she called me and said ‘because of Mercantile’s merger with First Bank
there are duplicate account numbers. You’re going to be getting another payment
book in the mail. But it is not yours, just bring it back to me and I will take
care of it,” Arntz explained.
Trusting her, Arntz did just that. But three months later
she got a late notice for a loan that had her name on it but it wasn’t hers.
Ebright said she would take care of it, blaming it on the
merger. Arntz thought she had until she went to buy a house in Mount Pleasant.
“I decided to buy a house because I like it up here. I
was getting denied. And I’m thinking why am I getting denied? My credit was
good, and so I went to see a credit councilor and he goes well this loan is
still on here,” Arntz said. “Do you know how frustrating it is and embarrassing
it is to be turned down for a house from a creditor and you don’t know why?”
Arntz then decided to contact Mercantile’s corporate office
in Grand Rapids about the problem. She said the next thing she knew she got a
call from Ebright saying she needed to come into the branch because she and
corporate needed to talk to her.
“She said ‘because of your e-mail I’m going to get fired.’
And I felt absolutely horrible, still thinking it was Mercantile’s fault,” said
Arntz.
Then Ebright asked her to lie to corporate.
“I looked at her and said ‘no, I just sent them an email
stating it was not my loan. I’m not going to tell them it’s my loan now.’ ‘Well
can you tell them that you took it out for someone else and they are paying it
back?’ And I said ‘no.’ She said ‘well we need to come up with a story to tell
them so I don’t get fire,’” said Arntz.
After that Arntz said she went home, looked though her
records and figured out Ebright had used the VIN number off her old Jeep to
open a new $25,000 loan. She also says Ebright had done it to her parents,
opening a loan in their name for $10,000.
“I’m angry. I’m really angry. To take advantage of me but to
my parents, at 77,” said Arntz. “How many senior citizens check their credit
reports?”
Arntz said what makes it even worse it was Ebright that
helped her rebuild her credit score after her divorce seven years ago.
“Finally, when I was able to do everything myself she does
this to me. And then she made the statement, I hope they don’t contact your
parents because I think of you guys as family,” said Arntz.
She had a message for Ebright: “You should be ashamed of
yourself. How dare you take advantage of innocent people and senior citizens.”