LITTLE ROCK, Ark.— An Arkansas woman has been sentenced to three years in prison for stealing more than $300,000 from elderly members at $6-billion Service FCU, based in Portsmouth, N.H.
Reports indicate Tyra Brown, 27, worked as a customer service representative for the SFCU. She was able to use her access as an employee to see customers' personal info, which included security questions and answers as well as account balances.
Brown reportedly used that access to steal $301,674.89 from at least 10 elderly victims, and she also attempted to steal $428,526.85 in total, Thv11 reported.
Brown used wires, electronic debits, and Zelle to transfer victim funds to other accounts.
“The defendant deliberately abused her position of trust and chose to target elderly account holders, knowing some of whom were unfamiliar with electronic banking,” said Acting U.S. Attorney McCormack. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners are vigilantly working to protect Granite Staters from fraudsters like the defendant.”
In January, Brown pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, and she faced up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
“Tyra Brown had no compunction about swindling elderly victims out of their hard-earned money. What she did isn’t just cowardly, it’s cruel,” said James Crowley, acting special agent in charge of the FBI Boston Division. “The FBI will never stop working to shut down elder fraud schemes like this one.”
Brown, following completion of her sentence must also serve three years of supervised release.