United States Attorney John C. Richter

Western District of Oklahoma

February 5, 2009

CONTACT: Bob Troester

                405/553-8999

THREE MEN PLEAD GUILTY IN THEFT FROM LAWTON BANK

  Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – John C. Richter, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma, announced today that Todd Vincent Rudisill, 22, of Lawton, Oklahoma, has pled guilty both to embezzling money from a City National Bank branch in Lawton and also to arranging for two acquaintances to stage a robbery of the bank.  The two acquaintances, Bryan Ross Benton, 23, and Tyson Charles Martin, 19, both of Stillwater, Oklahoma, pled guilty yesterday to the staged robbery.

During his plea hearing, Rudisill admitted that he embezzled more than $1,000 from City National Bank starting in January of 2008, when he became the bank branch manager.  The City National Bank branch is located in the Country Mart East Supermarket at 4510 Southeast Lee Boulevard in Lawton.  Rudisill’s plea agreement with the government requires him to forfeit $49,640, which represents the proceeds of the embezzlement.  He also admitted during his plea hearing that he contacted Martin on December 1, 2008, to ask him to rob the bank.  Rudisill wanted Martin to stage the robbery the next morning because of an on-going surprise bank audit that Rudisill knew would show that cash was missing from his branch.  Martin and Benton drove from Stillwater to Lawton that evening and spent part of that night with Rudisill planning the staged robbery.  The next morning, December 2, Rudisill was at the branch at 7:30 a.m., when Martin and Benton arrived.  As Benton admitted during his plea hearing, he entered the bank wearing a mask and gave Rudisill a demand note. Rudisill then gave Benton a large amount of cash as part of the staged robbery.  The FBI later recovered at Martin’s residence in Stillwater the $62,290 in cash that Rudisill had given to Benton.

All three men were indicted by a federal grand jury on December 17, 2008. 

Rudisill faces a potential penalty of thirty years in prison and a fine of $1,000,000 on the embezzlement count.  On the staged robbery count, he faces a potential penalty of twenty years in prison and a fine of $250,000.  As a result of their guilty pleas, Benton and Martin could be sentenced to twenty years in prison and be fined $250,000.  Sentencing for each defendant will take place in approximately ninety days.

        These charges are the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Lawton Police Department, and the Stillwater Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chris M. Stephens and Scott E. Williams.

        Reference is made to public court filings for further information.