Twenty-one people have been indicted by a Louisiana federal grand jury April 25, 2024, in connection with stealing millions of dollars from military service members and other customers banking with USAA. (Donna L. Burnett/U.S. Air Force)
A federal grand jury in Louisiana has indicted 21 people in connection with stealing millions of dollars from military service members and other customers banking with USAA.
The scheme used customer information, including names, ages, and account numbers and balances to steal almost $7 million from USAA and its customers, U.S. Attorney Brandon Brown told The Shreveport Times on Thursday.
The group gained access to those banking details through three workers employed by a call center in Shreveport, La., that provided customer service for USAA, according to a 10-page indictment filed in the U.S. Western District Court of Louisiana on Wednesday.
The stolen bank information was used to issue counterfeit checks, typically from the accounts of older customers with high bank balances. The group believed their targets were less likely to regularly monitor their account activity, the indictment states.
Proceeds from the checks were deposited into the bank accounts of people recruited by the group through social media. They would then withdraw the money, sometimes at a local casino, and share it with their co-conspirators, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Shreveport said Thursday.
The group’s activities took place from about Jan. 1, 2021, to about Oct. 31, 2022, and included USAA, Navy Federal Credit Union and Chase Bank, among other financial institutions, according to the indictment.
For example, fraudulent checks totaling $41,000 and drawn on USAA accounts were deposited to Navy Federal accounts owned by three people in June 2022, the indictment alleges.
One of those people later withdrew $7,000 from her account at a Shreveport casino, according to the indictment.
The indictment charges 20 people with conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Five of those people and another person also face charges of possession of a counterfeit security, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
The scheme was uncovered when local banks reported checks bouncing, according to The Shreveport Times.
