Pa. woman admits $1.1M minority-owned bank fraud

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A Pittsburgh woman has pleaded guilty to bank fraud and money laundering for taking advantage of an online glitch that enabled her to make $1.1 million in overdraft withdrawals. Regulators say that contributed to the failure of a tiny minority-owned bank.

Forty-six-year-old Jammie Harris learned of the glitch from another woman. That woman was indicted in January on charges that she stole more than $900,000 from Dwelling House Savings and Loan.

Prosecutors say Harris was seen “living the high life with new-found wealth” when she stole the money in 272 separate transactions from February to December 2008.

Dwelling House closed down in 2009 because it couldn’t absorb $3 million in fraud losses. A federal prosecutor says Harris and the other woman are the only people charged “so far.”