PORTLAND, Ore.—A local man here has been charged with 30 counts of fraud as part of a scheme involving new accounts at credit unions.
According to police, Donate Lamont Porter allegedly ran the scheme from July through December 2014 after convincing other people they could make some easy money. Police called Porter a “prolific thief.”
Under the scam, Porter allegedly recruited people to open an account at a local credit union; the new members would then give Porter the ATM card linked to the account, which showed funds that were the result of bogus checks. Porter used the cards to make cash withdrawals, paying the would-be members a small fee. Prosecutors say some of the others involved in the scheme may be charged as well. More than $10,000 was stolen before the scam was discovered.