Source: Office of United States Attorneys
RAPID CITY – United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that Camela C. Theeler, U.S. District Judge, has sentenced a Rapid City, South Dakota, woman convicted of one count of Bank Fraud and six counts of Theft by a Credit Union Employee. The sentencing took place on February 10, 2025.
Ashley Viken, 41, was sentenced to 11 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $700 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund and $50,000 in restitution to Black Hills Federal Credit Union and $69,085.95 in restitution to CUMIS Insurance Society, Inc.
Viken was indicted on one count of Bank Fraud and 28 counts of Theft by a Credit Union Employee by a federal grand jury in August 2024. She pleaded guilty on November 26, 2024.
Between July 2022 and March 2024, Viken, while employed as an accountant with Black Hills Federal Credit Union (BHFCU), devised a scheme to defraud BHFCU for her own personal gain. As part of the scheme, Viken wrote 29 cashier’s checks totaling $119,085.95 on an account owned and controlled by BHFCU and fraudulently documented that she was reissuing cashier’s checks or refunding money to BHFCU members, when she instead was depositing the cashier’s checks into accounts she owned or controlled. After fraudulently taking the money, Viken then falsified bank documents to cover her theft and used the funds for her own personal benefit.
This case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Patterson prosecuted the case.
Viken was ordered to self-surrender to the U.S. Marshals Service at a future date.