TALLAHASSEE, Fla.–A former credit union loan officer has been sentenced to 66 months in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to 20 counts of bank fraud, aggravated identity theft and theft from a lending institution.
According to the Justice Department, Kevin Robert Lee, 35, stole more than $800,000 while employed by FSU Credit Union, which serves Florida State University.
Lee was the lending director of FSU Credit Union from June 2014 to November 2017, and also treasurer of the Tallahassee Chapter of Credit Unions.
According to the Justice Department, in 2014 Lee used the chapter president's name, date of birth and Social Security number to create a second, fraudulent account for the organization. The Justice Department said Lee used the original chapter account for illegal activity, while leaving the new account for legitimate chapter-related transactions.
Lee also made two accounts using his college roommates' names, dates of birth and social security numbers. According to the DoJ, Lee used those accounts as "intermediary accounts" into which funds stolen from FSUCU members were deposited.
Additional Crimes
In addition, the DoJ said Lee transferred money from inactive member accounts to pay down the lines of credit to the intermediary accounts he credited or deposited them into TCCU's original bank account.
He also used the stolen money to pay off personal credit cards, make mortgage and car payments and pay for his children's private school tuition, according to court documents.
The DoJ said that Lee’s 2016, 2017 and 2018 tax returns did not report any of the stolen money as income. In all, court document show Lee actually attempted to steal a total of $1.2 million.
‘Integrity’ Important
“One of the most important assets of American financial institutions is customers’ faith in their integrity, and this defendant used his position of trust to steal their funds and the credit union’s reputation,” U.S. attorney Lawrence Keefe said in a statement. “This sentence should send a clear message that anyone who tries to violate the public’s trust will end up paying severe consequences.”
After Lee serves 66 months in prison, he will be on supervised release for five years. He was also ordered to pay $979,839.49 in restitution to the FSUCU and its insurance company, and to pay the IRS' prosecution costs of $11,589.48.