Back in June, I mentioned a somewhat puzzling breach report from Suncoast Schools Federal Credit Union. But now there’s a second breach report involving the credit union. I wish the reporter had asked them if they are still sure that the breach they reported in June was Heartland-related or if perhaps it’s due to this other situation as the time periods overlap. As reported in the St. Petersburg Times:
A former branch manager of a Suncoast Schools Federal Credit Union in Ruskin has been charged with identity theft, grand theft and money laundering in connection with a $400,000 scheme to funnel money to relatives and friends fraudulently.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday the arrest of Donnell Dewitt Williams, and said it was the culmination of a five month investigation of an identity theft ring…. Four people were arrested in all, including friends of Williams who recruited others to participate in the scheme, deputies said.
[…]
Deputies reviewed 400 loans and came up with 120 that were obtained fraudulently by Williams, Fleet said. Williams was also a loan officer at the Hillsborough branch. He would get the loans by doctoring people’s financial information, including employment status, credit history and sometimes using another persons’s identity to obtain a loan. He would take a percentage of the loan off the top, Fleet said.
Williams was fired by the bank in February, when the investigation began…. The other three defendants are Kenta Rashawn Fabian, 23, Larry Grace, 38, and Erick Rashad Barr, 31, all from Tampa. They are all charged with identity theft and grand theft in the third degree.