WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, Vt.– A former branch manager for the Vermont VA FCU here has been indicted for charging more than $140,000 on a fraudulently obtained credit card, according to federal court records.
Tracy Thibodeau, 46, of Windsor was named in the federal indictment for illegal conduct while employed at VVAFCU between 2015 and April 2022, U.S. District Court records show, Vermont Business Magazine reported.
According to the report, Thibodeau, formerly known as Tracy Hill, developed a scheme that involved the fraudulent procurement and use of a personal VVAFCU credit card between April 2019 and April 2022. She had been promoted to branch manager in 2016, Vermont Business Magazine said, adding that court records show that as part of the scheme Thibodeau used the software to grant herself privileged statuses on her credit card account.
"Those privileged statuses removed dollar limits on her credit card balances, excused her from late fees and interest penalties on overdue balances, and eliminated requirements that she make minimum payments toward any unpaid balance," the indictment reads, according to Vermont Business Magazine.
Manipulated Internal Controls
“Also as part of her scheme, Thibodeau manipulated VVAFCU's internal Cardholder Journal Reports to conceal from her supervisors her procurement and misuse of the credit card, court records show,” the report continued. “Between April 2019 and February 2021, Thibodeau used her fraudulently-obtained credit card to incur charges in excess of $140,000,” the indictment said. By the time she was fired by VVAFCU on April 29, 2022 the balance on her credit card was more than $137,000, court records show.”
Vermont Business Magazine said that Hartford Police received a complaint on May 2, 2022, about a possible fraud at the credit union. The case was later referred to the U.S. Secret Service.
“Along with the one-count indictment, the grand jury also issued a forfeiture notice to Thibodeau,” the report added. “It notes if she is convicted, Thibodeau will be required to forfeit any property constituting any proceeds obtained directly or indirectly from her criminal conduct, including at least $137,000.”
It’s Called Fresh for a Reason. And We Offer Home Delivery. For Free!
The biggest, best and freshest news reporting in credit unions remains free in ’23! Each morning CUToday.info delivers its daily Fresh Today news update offering the latest headlines and breaking news right to your email, with the easy-to-read headlines format allowing you to click on the stories that interest you most in order to learn more.
If you haven’t yet signed up for the new email solution on which CUToday.info has partnered with ResponseGenius, you can do so here. Signing up requires less than one minute of your time—and it’s free!
Please note that after signing up you may need to go to your Spam/Junk folder and mark the morning headlines email as safe. CUToday.info does not provide its list of readers and emails to outside parties, and we will not be contacting you to sell you an extended warranty or sending you any links so you may cash in on an inheritance you didn’t know was coming.
And did we mention it’s free?
Please note and/or make your IT department or email administrator aware the emails will be coming from the domains CUTodayinfo.com and CUTodayinfoReply.com