A Warrendale business whose controller pleaded guilty to federal embezzlement charges filed suit last week against Citizens Bank, claiming it was negligent in preventing the fraud.

Marco Contractors filed a federal lawsuit Feb. 14 against the bank, alleging the bank's actions and inactions caused more than $8.7 million in economic damage and additional lost business opportunities.

The lawsuit comes after Sue O'Neill, the company's former controller, pleaded guilty in November to embezzling $8.7 million over the course of a decade. She was charged with depositing $2 million of those funds in her personal bank account and using the remaining $6.7 million to start a company called Bulldog Contractors.

Bulldog Contractors used those funds to purchase items, including a property at 124 McBride Hill Road in Penn Township, according to federal prosecutors.

Marco claims the bank became aware of O'Neill's actions in 2014, but didn't notify the company's owner or implement safeguards against fraudulent activities. The company claims in its lawsuit that the bank instead communicated only with O'Neill, who issued payroll checks, made checks payable and wired funds from Marco to the fraudulent company.

The company also alleges that with other customers Citizens requires the use of a two-person verification process for payments, but such a system was never discussed with the company's owner nor required on the company's account.

According to the lawsuit, three fraudulent checks were cashed in August 2014, and the bank flagged them as suspicious. However, the lawsuit further contends the bank only discussed the checks with O'Neill, not with the company's owner, and failed to provide other assistance or systems through which fraud could be stopped.

“Upon information and belief, Citizens Bank took no additional steps to secure the account from fraud at that time or as an ongoing concern, despite being put on notice of suspicious and fraudulent activity regarding Marco's accounts,” the lawsuit states.

The actions taken by the bank, the lawsuit claims, provided O'Neill the opportunity to continue embezzling funds. The suit further alleges bank employees — including Rod Vingle, James Nealon and Frank Livorio — met multiple times for meetings and annual reviews with the company's owner, Martin Smith, but never once notified him of suspicious or fraudulent activity or discussed any tools to prevent fraud.

Instead, according to the suit, “Citizens Bank contacted only O'Neill, the embezzler, regarding these high-alert fraud incidents and potential fraud prevention tools, providing her the roadmap to successfully steal millions of dollars from Marco.”

The contracting company seeks direct damages in the amount of the $8.7 million embezzled from its accounts. The suit also seeks consequential and punitive damages, although it did not include an amount.