$2.9 Million in Deposits Were Lost, Not Stolen

The case of the missing San Fernando Valley checks is closed, chalked up to mishap rather than misdeed.

Headlines last March proclaimed the mysterious disappearance of $2.9 million worth of deposits, including $8,000 in cash, from First Interstate Bank, which said the loot vanished somewhere between the Valley and the bank’s downtown processing office. The bank said the missing March 3 deposits were stolen, and that it had some idea who was to blame.

But Los Angeles police and the bank now say the deposits were merely lost somewhere, although they could not determine exactly where.

“We conducted an investigation and there were no suspects,” Lt. Howard Hughie said. “It turned out to be a big nothing.”

Bank spokesman John Popovich said the loss, which involved about 1,500 customers of four First Interstate branches, wasn’t as dire as it first seemed. Aside from sorting out the bookkeeping and soothing ruffled customers, cash losses were limited to the $8,000 from various First Interstate automated teller machines. The remaining lost items were checks.