Two Charged with $2.4 Million Fraud Scheme Contributing to the Failure of a Federal Credit Union

Prosecutions Part of National Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force Initiative

CHARLESTON, WV—United States Attorney R. Booth Goodwin II announced today the filing of charges against two women for their roles in a $2.4 million credit union fraud scheme. A federal grand jury sitting in Beckley, West Virginia returned an indictment against Rebecca Poe, 35, of Falls Mills, Virginia, charging her with fraud against the N&W Poca Division Federal Credit Union located in Bluefield, West Virginia. The indictment charges Poe, a former employee of the credit union, with taking money from the credit union from 2003 to August 2008 through various schemes. The indictment alleges that Poe created fictitious deposits into her account and the accounts of family members. The deposits were fictitious in that no funds were received by the credit union to support the deposits. Poe then used these funds for personal expenses after making the fictitious deposits. Similarly, the indictment alleges that Poe recorded fictitious payments on her loan accounts and those of family members without the credit union receiving funds. Additionally, Poe created manual, official checks made payable to family members and to third parties on the credit union’s account to pay for her personal expenses.

The indictment alleges that the offense resulted in the loss of $2.4 million dollars to the credit union contributing to its failure. On October 3, 2008, the National Credit Union Administration Board placed the N&W Poca Division Federal Credit Union into involuntary liquidation due to its insolvency.

The indictment also alleges that Poe was aided and abetted by a former co-worker, Pamela Mullins. Mullins, 46, of Bluefield, West Virginia, is named as an aider and abettor in the indictment, but not as a defendant. However, an information was filed today against Mullins, charging her with defrauding N&W Poca Credit Union. The information alleges that Mullins engaged in similar conduct as Poe.

If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum prison term of 30 years, a fine of $4.8 million and an order of restitution.

The investigation was conducted as a part of President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division.

“This U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice are committed to devoting all the time and resources necessary to pursue complex cases such as these. We will look especially close at cases involving persons in positions of trust as well as cases which place parts of our financial system in peril,” stated U.S. Attorney Goodwin.

President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.

Assistant United States Attorney Susan M. Robinson, Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s White Collar Crime Unit, is handling the prosecution.

PLEASE NOTE: The Fifth Amendment and applicable federal law gives a criminal defendant a personal right of Indictment by grand jury for federal crimes punishable by more than one year imprisonment. An Indictment is a formal, written accusation by a grand jury. An Indictment or Information is not proof of guilt, and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless they are found guilty.