BOSTON—A former loan officer at MassMutual Federal Credit Union has been sentenced to prison for defrauding the credit union out of nearly $1 million by manipulating a home equity line of credit tied to his own home, federal prosecutors said.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, Brian Socha, 45, of Brookfield, Mass., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni in federal court in Springfield to 18 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $902,541.15 in restitution.
Prosecutors said Socha admitted to carrying out the fraud while employed as a loan officer at MassMutual Federal Credit Union. Over a six-year period, he repeatedly accessed co-workers’ computers without authorization to alter the terms of a home equity line of credit on the home he owned with his wife.
Investigators said Socha hacked into colleagues’ systems more than 20 times to increase the credit limit on the HELOC and reduce the interest rate to well below market levels. The changes allowed him to raise the line’s limit from $135,500 to $995,000 while lowering the interest rate from 7.25% to 1.99%.
Authorities said Socha used the funds for personal spending and lifestyle expenses.