Former Manchester bank employee to serve over a year in federal prison for embezzlement 

CEDAR RAPIDS - A federal judge flatly denied a defense attorney's plea Thursday for a former Manchester bank secretary convicted of embezzlement to serve part of her sentence on home confinement, along with prison time.

U.S. District Chief Judge Linda Reade said Ann Marie Sperfslage, 55, of Manchester, didn't steal to support her family, she stole to support her lifestyle that she couldn't afford. She owned a $285,000 home, four cars, motorcycles and snowmobiles, which could have been sold if money was needed, Reade said.

Reade also pointed out Sperfslage didn't turn herself in - a bank official discovered a discrepancy in the records and pursued the issue. He then confronted Sperfslage, but she denied it until he showed her the documents.

Reade sentenced Sperfslage, who had no previous criminal history, to nearly two years in federal prison, which was at the bottom of the sentencing guideline range. She was also ordered to pay $123,180 in restitution to the bank, which she paid before the hearing, and a fine of $5,000.

Sperfslage, the former secretary to the First State Bank's executive vice president, pleaded guilty in February to one count of embezzlement by a bank employee. She embezzled over $123,000 from First State Bank from May 2008 to May 2010.

Sperfslage, tearing up, apologized to the bank and the employees, and also to her husband and family.

'I'm so sorry for my actions and destroying the trust you had in me,” Sperfslage said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Morfitt asked the judge to deny a lesser prison term, as defense attorney Leon Spies had requested. Morfitt pointed out she stole to support her lifestyle, and she not only took money from the bank but also got into customers' accounts and manipulated money.

Spies also asked the judge to consider Sperfslage's medical condition, saying she had a 'rare and serious” disease diagnosed in 2013 and she was vulnerable to relapse. He asked for part of her term to be home confinement and a "modest" fine.

Reade said Sperfslage's doctor said she was 'clinically free of disease” after having a stem cell transplant in 2013 and hadn't relapsed. Reade said the medical director of the Bureau of Prisons indicated the medical staff could provide any necessary treatment if Sperfslage releases her medical records to them.

'She won't suffer more hardship than others in prison,” Reade said.

According to the plea agreement, Sperfslage worked with the bank's software and computer systems until she was terminated in 2010. Sperfslage created false electronic records and documents showing that the bank had loaned her and her husband more money than it actually had.

She also deposited other customers' deposits in her accounts so that it appeared as if she was making payments on the loan, according to the plea agreement. Sperfslage also reversed the false deposits and then deposited the funds into the correct accounts before the customers and bank discovered she had misapplied the deposits.

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