MINNEAPOLIS – A Fergus Falls man faces a federal indictment charging him with stealing money from automated teller machines in numerous locations in west-central Minnesota and Wahpeton, N.D., over a period of seven years.
Christopher James Diestler, 31, was charged July 16 with one count of bank larceny. He was arrested July 17 and made his initial appearance Thursday in federal court.
The indictment alleges that between March 2005 and March 15, 2012, Diestler stole about $182,350 from Bremer Bank ATMs in Alexandria, Breckenridge, Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, and Morris in Minnesota, and in Wahpeton, along with a Wells Fargo ATM in Alexandria and a U.S. Bank ATM in Fergus Falls.
The thefts were committed while Diestler was carrying out his duties as an armored truck driver, investigators said.
If convicted, Diestler faces a potential maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
ADVERTISEMENT
This case is the result of an investigation by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office, the Fergus Falls Police Department and the FBI.
It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lola Velazquez-Aguilu.
