Former Malta Bank VP to Plead to Embezzlement

GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) — The former vice president of a Malta bank has reached a plea agreement after being charged with embezzling nearly $3.7 million from the bank over a period of nearly a dozen years.

Rhonda Lee Devries appeared in U.S. District Court in Great Falls on Thursday to enter an initial plea of not guilty to one count each of embezzlement by a bank officer, credit card fraud and money laundering.

Her attorney, Mark D. Parker of Billings, says Devries plans to change her plea on Aug. 20 when a U.S. District Court judge is available to accept it.

Prosecutors alleged Devries used her position at the bank to set up three high-limit credit accounts for fake companies and used those accounts to withdraw more than $3 million for herself. The embezzlement began in January 2001.