Bank Employees Facing Federal Charges

Three southwest Kansas women are facing federal charges accusing them of embezzling more than $100,000 from a bank where they worked and staging a robbery to cover it up. A fourth woman is accused of embezzling money with two of the others for more than two years after the July 24, 2010, staged robbery at Western State Bank in Ulysses.

A federal indictment unsealed Thursday charges Ulysses residents 32-year-old Amber Gutierrez, 32-year-old Hattie Wiginton and 28-year-old Ashley Cravens with two counts of embezzlement by a bank employee and one count of bank robbery. Wiginton also is charged with making a false statement to the FBI. And 59-year-old Linda Wise of Ulysses is charged with one count of embezzlement.

The women remain free and are scheduled for initial appearances July 31.