Former CEO sentenced after stealing $2.2M from Winslow credit union

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PHOENIX (AP) - A Gilbert woman has been sentenced to 26 months in prison for embezzling over $2.2 million from a Winslow credit union after a routine audit found discrepancies in the company's financial records.

According to a statement by the U.S. Attorney's Office, 64-year-old Susan Romero worked for the Winslow Santa Fe Credit Union for more than 30 years in mostly leadership roles, including as manager, president and CEO.

The sentence imposed Thursday on Romero on her previous guilty plea to one count of embezzlement funds includes an order that she pay restitution of $2,360,000.

Romero admitted in her plea agreement that she stole money by making unauthorized cash withdrawals, forging checks, and transferring money from the credit union to her family members' accounts.

"She covered her tracks through false entries in the financial statements, such as falsifying the amount of cash stored in the vault and offsetting the stolen money with fictitious assets."