A former JPMorgan worker has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $100 million in corporate cheques from the bank's processing facility in New York.
Gregory Halley, 37, stole the cheques when he worked in the post room at JPMorgan's lockbox facility in Brooklyn, which processes cheques from large corporate customers.
Halley would credit the paper sums to the customers' accounts, but would hide as many as several dozen cheques - generally worth at least $50,000 each - in his clothing and take them home. He would then give the cheques to co-conspirators in exchange for cash payments.
A JPMorgan spokesperson told reporters that the bank discovered some cheques were missing and alerted authorities. Since then the bank has implemented additional security procedures at the facility.
According to press reports, Halley stole cheques from 2005 until his arrest on 21 April 2006. He was arrested as he left the facility with about 40 stolen cheques, worth about $4 million, hidden in his socks.
Halley has admitted to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and now faces up to 30 years in prison when he is sentenced.
Three other people have also been charged in connection with the theft of cheques from the JPMorgan facility.