She was a thief in Thief River Falls until she got caught after spending years skimming nearly $400,000 from the bank that employed her, according to a criminal complaint filed Wednesday.

Vicki L. Torgerson, 48, was charged in federal court in Minneapolis with embezzlement by a bank officer, namely that she stole cash from the Northern State Bank's ATMs and the backup cassettes.

The consumer loan officer's scheme stretched from July 2005 until March 2013, according to the complaint. Her total take, investigators say: $396,480.

Torgerson, a longtime Thief River Falls resident, was charged by information, meaning that it's her intention to plead guilty.

Her attorney, Joel Arnason, said his client "has been 100 percent cooperative with law enforcement. She was the one to come forward, almost self-reporting; not exactly, but sort of."

Arnason declined to elaborate on what Torgerson did with the money.

Paul Walsh