Former W. St. Paul bank manager kills self after charge of stealing $1.1M

A woman charged with embezzling more than $1.1 million while managing a bank branch in West St. Paul committed suicide at her family's Eagan home, authorities said Wednesday.

Cynthia Van Dusartz, 55, was found Sunday by her husband, police said.

Van Dusartz was charged in federal court on Feb. 29 with stealing $1,114,205 from customers of St. Paul-based Anchor Bank.

Also, in December she was charged in Dakota County District Court with four counts of theft by swindle in connection with a string of withdrawals from a customer's account dating to 2013 and totaling more than $640,000.

Joe Van Dusartz told officers on the afternoon he found his wife that he last heard from her late that morning in a text message, according to police. He said she had an appointment scheduled the next day with a federal prosecutor "to discuss her fate," a police report read.

"Joe thinks that that is why she committed suicide," the report continued.

Cynthia Van Dusartz was scheduled to appear next Tuesday at an arraignment in federal court in Minneapolis.

A bank investigation showed that Van Dusartz had opened an account under several other names, including that of her deceased sister, authorities said. Van Dusartz transferred more than $640,000 from the customer's account to the one she opened and withdrew from ATMs at Treasure Island Casino near Red Wing and at Las Vegas casinos.

More than 6 million people in the United States struggle with negative consequences associated with gambling, according to the 44-year-old National Problem Gambling Council. The effects of a gambling disorder are often more than economic, leading to damaged relationships and high rates of substance abuse, depression and suicide.

Along with her husband, Cynthia Van Dusartz is survived by two daughters.