A penny for this guy's thoughts.
A former security worker for Brink's Company has been accused of stealing $196,000 while on the job -- all of it in quarters.
Stephen Dennis was charged on Monday with one count of bank theft by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Dennis, 49, was working as a money processing manager for Brink’s at its Birmingham branch in early 2014, when the robberies took place, according to a Justice Department press release.
His job gave him access to the Federal Reserve Coin Inventory. The coins he is accused of stealing were stored in ballistic bags, each containing $50,000 and place on skids inside Brink’s Coin Room.
Dennis' last day on the job was Feb. 20, 2014. An April 2014 audit of the Federal Reserve Coin Inventory discovered four ballistic bags containing a large amount of beads and just $1,000 in quarters, placed so they were visible the neck of each bag.
A subsequent investigation revealed that on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2014, Dennis came to Brink's on his day off and collected four empty skids and four empty ballistic bags, which he filled with beads. The skids and the bead-filled bags were placed back inside the coin room.
The money that Brink's was holding belonged to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and the company refunded the missing coins to the bank.
The U.S. Attorney's Office said Dennis has agreed to plead guilty to the charge and to repay his former employers.
Dennis also faces up to 10 years in prison and an additional $250,000 fine.
The arrest was a victory for people who enjoy it when government officials include puns in their official statements.
U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance said the defendant "may have thought he had quite a haul when he took nearly $200,000 in quarters from the Federal Reserve’s coin storage at Brink’s, but now he carries a heavier load."
FBI Special Agent in Charge Roger C. Stanton also showed he knows how to coin a phrase.
“What Mr. Dennis may have thought was a nickel and dime theft was, in the end, the equivalent of a major bank heist,” Stanton said. “Now, he will be a convicted felon who must repay all the stolen money.”
This is the second time this year that a Brink's employee has been accused of robbery.
In January, Jose Agurto was arrested in San Diego after allegedly stealing $3.2 million from a Brink's facility in Miami on New Year's Day, according to CBS Miami.
Scroll down to read Stephen Dennis' Plea Agreement:
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