PORTLAND, Ore.—U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams announced
today that a Beaverton, Oregon man has been charged with bank fraud in a scheme
involving the impersonation of credit union employees in order to obtain
members’ personal financial information.
Winston E. Gray, 30, has been charged by criminal complaint
with bank fraud.
According to court documents, on March 30, 2020, a fraud
investigator for Rivermark Credit Union in Portland contacted the Portland
Police Bureau to report that numerous credit union members had received
fraudulent text messages asking them to confirm or deny a recent transaction.
When a victim member denied the transaction, they received a phone call from
someone purporting to be a credit union employee asking for their debit card
number and PIN in order to disable their card.
The personal financial information obtained was used to
clone victims’ debit cards and make numerous purchases and ATM withdrawals
throughout the Portland metro area. Using a list of fraudulent transactions
provided by Rivermark, detectives from Portland Police Bureau and the Beaverton
Police Department, with assistance from investigators with OnPoint Credit
Union, Bank of America, Unitus Credit Union, and Fred Meyer, obtained video
surveillance and photos of the unauthorized transactions from various ATMs and
retail establishments.
Surveillance images of the suspect, later alleged to be
Gray, were obtained from a Bank of America ATM on NW Cornell Road in Portland.
On March 29, 2020, after making a balance inquiry on a victim member’s account,
Gray made three consecutive withdrawals of $203 each from the ATM. Gray was
later linked to a second fraudulent ATM withdrawal and two fraudulent money
order purchases the same day.
As the investigation continued, detectives linked Gray to
additional fraudulent transactions between March 30 and April 8, 2020 at
locations throughout the Portland area. After reviewing body-worn camera
footage from a previous traffic stop, detectives were able to positively
identify Gray as the suspect responsible for the fraudulent bank transactions
and obtain his home address.
On April 15, 2020, detectives obtained and served state
search warrants on Gray’s Beaverton residence, person, and vehicle.
Detectives seized a Bluetooth card writer used to re-encode
magnetic strips on credit cards; blank cards with magnetic strips; handwritten
instructions on creating stolen identities and committing credit card fraud;
multiple stolen credit cards, debit cards, and driver’s licenses; clothing
matching those seen in the surveillance footage; more than $10,000 in cash; a
380 caliber handgun; a box of 380 caliber ammunition; and 26 grams of cocaine
from Gray’s residence. Other related items were seized from his person and
vehicle.
After conducting the searches, Gray was arrested without
incident. Gray made his first appearance in federal court today and was ordered
detained.
If convicted, Gray faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in
federal prison, 5 years’ supervised release, and a $1 million fine.
A criminal complaint is only an accusation of a crime, and a
defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Portland Police Bureau,
Beaverton Police Department, and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and is
being prosecuted by Quinn P. Harrington, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the
District of Oregon.
The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department
of Justice. Learn more about the history
of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.
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