Austin Nolan Dwight Rutherford, a former armored transport guard based in Juneau, pleaded guilty to charges of theft, embezzlement, and misapplication of funds by a person connected in a capacity with a bank and credit union.
The 29-year-old man stole a total of $579,400.00, which was entrusted to him by three banks and two federal credit unions in Juneau.
Rutherford’s caper started March of 2020 and continued until March of 2022, when he was an armed transport guard for Axiom Armored Transport. The company is responsible for the armed transportation of U.S. currency for ATMs of U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo Bank, Key Bank, NuVision Credit Union, and Alaska USA Federal Credit Union.
The court records indicate that Rutherford began his illicit activities in March of 2020, following his transfer to Axiom’s Juneau branch. Even after his termination in March of2022, Rutherford continued making unusual cash deposits into his bank accounts that surpassed legitimate income sources identified during the investigation.
The misappropriation was eventually discovered in May or 2022, following an internal audit conducted by Axiom, which uncovered that Rutherford had stolen a total of $579,400.00 in bank and credit union funds.
Rutherford is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 17. The severity of his crime could lead to a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, a fine of up to $1,000,000 and potentially life on supervised release. As part of his guilty plea, Rutherford has agreed to pay full restitution of the stolen amount.
