FBI clears federal attorney in Nevada; ex-husband admitted stealing millions from bank

Sudabeh Fahami remains on the job as deputy chief in charge of the U.S. attorney’s branch office in Reno as her now-ex-husband, Stephen Marich, awaits sentencing on a federal charge of embezzlement by a bank officer or employee.

Lauren Howrood, spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Sacramento, Calif., said the FBI extensively investigated the case and determined that no one other than Marich was involved.

The 43-year-old former Ely city councilman entered a guilty plea on Monday, the same day the criminal complaint was filed against him.

According to court documents, Marich used his job as vice president of the First National Bank of Ely to pilfer the money from customers’ Treasury bill accounts. The thefts went on for at least nine years as Marich fueled a gambling habit that had him placing bets with Internet casinos overseas.

Bank officials discovered the crime in early December 2009. When they confronted Marich, he skipped town, said bank president John Gianoli.

Marich abruptly resigned from the Ely City Council a month later. His short letter to the city gave no explanation for why he decided to quit less than seven months into his third term.

The maximum penalty for embezzlement of more than $1 million by a bank employee is 30 years in prison, but Marich is not expected to spend that much time behind bars.

Under the plea agreement, prosecutors will push for the minimum prison sentence recommended by federal probation officials, though the judge in the case will have the final say.

Sentencing is set for May 11.

Reno attorney Scott N. Freeman, who represents Marich, said he expects his client to get some prison time but it’s unclear how much.

"Mr. Marich had a horrible, horrible gambling problem that got out of control," Freeman said. "He has nothing to show for it."

From November 2000 to December 2009, Marich used forged cashier’s checks to embezzle more than $2.1 million from T-bill accounts to pay his credit card bills and overseas gambling debts.

He used wire transfers to funnel an additional $1.6 million to himself over a three-year span.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Sacramento handled his prosecution because of Fahami’s position in Nevada.

A message left for Fahami at her Reno office was not returned Tuesday.

Fahami previously worked in Ely as White Pine County district attorney. After she became a federal prosecutor, Marich split his time between Reno and Ely, a city of about 4,300 people 250 miles north of Las Vegas.

White Pine County Sheriff Dan Watts got to know both Fahami and Marich over the years. He has no trouble believing that Marich was able to keep his embezzlement and gambling addiction a secret from his wife as long as he did.

"I understand it was as big a shock to her as anyone," Watts said.

Marich certainly didn’t live like a millionaire. He had a nice house in Ely, but it wasn’t a mansion, the sheriff said. "He didn’t even buy new vehicles."

Property records show the couple paid almost $550,000 for a four-bedroom house on a Reno golf course on Nov. 24, 2009. Marich transferred his ownership stake in the house to his wife on Dec. 11, 2009, just days after he fled his job at the bank in Ely.

On Dec. 15, 2009, Fahami sold another house she had owned in the Reno area since 2001. That sale brought in $279,000.

Gianoli said that Marich’s crime dealt a serious blow to the First National Bank of Ely, but that depositors were protected and the 104-year-old institution was never at risk of failure.

"No customers have suffered any financial damage as a result of this. Everyone’s been made whole. No one’s lost a nickel," he said.

The bank had to pay customers back "out of our own pocket," Gianoli said, but "we’ve basically weathered the storm."

Even if Marich is ordered to pay restitution, his former boss doesn’t expect the bank to get much of its money back.

"You can’t get blood from a stone," Gianoli said.

Review-Journal writer Brian Haynes contributed to this report. Contact reporter Henry Brean at hbrean@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0350.