Former NH credit union employee gets 3 years for defrauding elderly of more than $300K
A federal judge sentenced an Arkansas woman Thursday to three years in prison for stealing more than $300,000 from elderly customers of a New Hampshire credit union, justice officials said.
Tyra Brown, 27, of Benton, Arkansas, pleaded guilty Jan. 23 to one count of wire fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Brian Miller sentenced Brown to 36 months of prison time and three years of supervised release.
Brown was a customer service representative at the credit union, which was not named in the court documents or in the news release after her sentencing.
'(Brown) deliberately abused her position of trust and chose to target elderly account holders, knowing some of whom were unfamiliar with electronic banking,' acting U.S. Attorney Jay McCormack said in a statement.
Officials said Brown had access to customers' personal information, security questions and answers and account balances, but that access was only for business purposes, like answering questions while talking to customers over the phone.
However, she took $301,674.89 total from at least 10 elderly victims and attempted to steal $428,526.85, justice officials said.
According to court documents, Brown used wires, electronic debits and Zelle to transfer the victims' money to other accounts.
'What she did isn't just cowardly, it's cruel,' said James Crowley, acting special agent in charge of the FBI Boston Division.
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