Branch manager allegedly stole more than $60,000 from customers to promote herself on TikTok: Report

An assistant branch manager of a credit union in California covertly stole more than $60,000 from customers' accounts to spend on TikTok in an effort to promote herself.

Esther Andrade Olson, 49, reportedly stole cash from four customers of the credit union in Tulare between July 2022 and August 2022, according to court documents that were filed in federal court in Fresno, per the Sacramento Bee. She has been accused of stealing the money to “support others and promote herself on TikTok, and to send money to her boyfriend in Texas."

Olson's boyfriend is said to have hundreds of thousands of followers on the social media platform. She apparently sent the majority of the money to him via gifts over TikTok, as well as visiting him on a number of occasions.

When the authorities questioned Olson about the large withdrawals from one victim's account, she claimed that she had used the money for home remodeling projects. However, that turned out to be a lie, according to the affidavit.

Some time after the questioning, she shared with a co-worker, "I know how this goes. I'm done." She abruptly resigned from her post at the credit union. Just over a month later, Olson pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $60,000 from customers of the credit union.

The United States Attorney's Office released a statement in June that said, "Olson began working at the credit union in 2005 and was promoted to assistant branch manager in 2019. In July and August 2022, Olson made several unauthorized withdrawals from four members’ accounts, including seven withdrawals totaling $35,000 from one member."

Olson has agreed to pay back all the money she allegedly stole. The agreement noted that she owes the customers no more than $65,000.

The report noted that Olson was able to make the withdrawals "while assisting other credit union members who were at the teller window to make it appear as though she had legitimate reasons to access the credit union’s cash stores," according to prosecutors.

The United States Attorney's Office said that "if convicted, Olson faces a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables."

GV Wire reported that the judge in the case is Ana de Alba and that the trial is scheduled for March 4, 2024.

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