UPDATED – DEKALB COUNTY, TN: A former Regions Bank employee in Smithville has been sentenced after admitting she stole more than $331,000 from a customer’s savings account. Forty-seven-year-old Brenda Faye Fuson pleaded guilty to theft over $10,000 and received a six-year sentence at 30 percent, fully suspended to supervised probation under judicial diversion. She was also ordered to pay $331,499 in restitution, and a family member confirmed she has already paid at least $95,000 towards that amount. Police say the theft was discovered in July 2024, and Fuson admitted to moving the money into her own account. No additional charges or civil actions have been announced at this time.
Previous: DEKALB COUNTY, TN — 45 Minutes northeast of Murfreesboro in Smithville, Tennessee, a former Regions Bank employee in DeKalb County has been sentenced after admitting to police that she stole more than $331,000 from a customer’s savings account.
According to court records, 47-year-old Brenda Faye Fuson entered a plea by criminal information to one count of theft over $10,000 in DeKalb County Criminal Court on Monday. Fuson received a six-year sentence to be served at 30 percent, which was fully suspended to supervised probation under judicial diversion. As part of the sentence, she was also ordered to pay $331,499 in restitution to Regions Bank.
Smithville Police Chief Mark Collins said the theft investigation began on July 30, 2024, after authorities were notified that a large sum of money had been taken from a customer’s savings account at the Smithville branch of Regions Bank. During the investigation, Fuson was identified as a person of interest.
According to Chief Collins, while being interviewed by detectives, Fuson admitted that she removed the money from the customer’s account and deposited it into her own account.
No further details regarding additional charges or civil action have been released at this time. After the plea hearing, the woman was booked into the DeKalb County Jail in Smithville on Monday.
