A former bank employee was sentenced Friday to 53 months in prison for stealing more than $140,000 from elderly customers, according to the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office.

Amy Esposito, 42, of 624 Aurora Way, Wheaton, pleaded guilty July 29 to a felony charge of financial institution fraud in connection with taking $144,677.18 from the bank accounts of elderly customers at a bank where she worked.

Prosecutors said Esposito used her position as an operations officer and senior personal banker at Community Bank - Wheaton/Glen Ellyn to gain access to customer accounts and then transfer unauthorized funds from the accounts. She allegedly then used those funds to pay her own personal expenses. The withdrawals and transfers took place from February 2004 through July 2008.

The unauthorized transactions were uncovered after a victim’s family member alerted bank authorities to discrepancies in their parent’s account. The bank conducted an internal audit and turned over their findings to the state’s attorney’s office. 

Esposito was indicted April 8, and she entered a blind plea of guilty July 29. DuPage County Circuit Judge Perry Thompson handed down Friday’s sentence.

“For more than four years Amy Esposito used the Community Bank - Wheaton/Glen Ellyn as her own personal piggy bank,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Joseph Birkett said in a press release. “She took advantage of the trust that was placed in her to line her own pockets. Thanks to Community Bank’s diligence and assistance however, we were able to bring an end to Mrs. Esposito’s thievery and hold her accountable for her actions.”