Banker admits to exploiting elderly woman with dementia

TYLER — Our news partners at KETK report that a Tyler relationship banker has admitted to exploiting an elderly woman with dementia to print and deposit checks into his bank account, a Smith County affidavit revealed. A Regions Bank in Tyler had received a tip that James Dale Turner, a now-former employee, had admitted to printing checks and depositing them into his account. Evidence, including 5 cashier checks, showed transaction dates between May to June where Turner allegedly took $3,812 from the victim. Authorities then contacted Turner, who said he knew why police were contacting him and allegedly admitted to having done the cashier checks. Turner said while working for the bank, he helped people open accounts and worked as a teller.

“Turner stated that he owned up to what he did and that he was going through a rough spot,” documents revealed. “He stated that he is currently going through bankruptcy and that he made a bad decision.”

Turner told detectives that the victim had not permitted him to take the money out of her account and had never asked him to do the cashier’s checks. Turner then admitted to knowing that the victim had dementia.

“He stated that she would still remember things,” the affidavit reads. “He stated that this did not have anything to do with why he picked her, but it was just him being stupid and being in a tough spot.”

The suspect stated that he had received an eviction notice and needed to vacate the house by mid-June. To secure funds for the first month’s rent on a new apartment, he began withdrawing money from the victim’s account.

Turner was booked into the Smith County Jail on Aug. 15 for exploitation of a child/elderly/disabled person and released the same day.

Following Turner’s arrest, Regions Bank released a statement expressing gratitude to its customers and confirming that the victim has been reimbursed.

“We appreciate the diligence of law enforcement as they work to bring this matter to justice. We deeply value the trust our customers place in us. If that trust is ever violated, that goes against the core values of who we are. We can confirm the impacted customer has been reimbursed, and we will cooperate with investigators should additional assistance be required to handle this matter.”