LANSING, Mich.–A driver for Brinks has been charged with stealing more than $1 million from several credit unions and banks in central Michigan by smuggling cash in his lunch box.
The charges, filed in federal court, accuse former Brinks employee, Reginald Carman, of smuggling $1,060,200 from seven banking institutions; he faces 12 counts of bank larceny.
According to court documents cited by WWJ.com, Brinks first became aware of suspicious activity after several branches of Lansing Automakers FCU — which used the company's services — reported money shortages in excess of $350,000 altogether back in January.
“The branches said they did not experience any break-ins and added up the sums multiple times and still came up short,” court papers said, according to WWJ.com.
Investigation Launched
The report added that Brink's launched an investigation after receiving the discrepancies and quickly identified Carman as a potential suspect; the FBI was also informed of the incident by LAFCU representatives.
Charges filed in federal court said Carman began work as a solo driver and was servicing teller machines for the company on Nov. 15, 2021; one month later, he stopped coming to work, WWJ reported.
“Footage obtained from cameras within the Brinks vehicle appears to show Carman putting a clear plastic bag stuffed with crash into a clear work lunch box — it is further alleged that Carman can be seen stopping the armored vehicle before returning to the office and removing the lunch box with both hands before walking it over a dark-colored truck,” WWJ.com reported.
In a statement to the news outlet, Brinks said they were able to determine Carman took the money from seven banks and credit unions based off of which teller machines showed cash dispensaries.
"At the meeting between Carman and [Brinks officials] on Jan. 6, 2022, Carman advised that his father had recently passed away and his mind was not right when he was stealing the money," court documents said. "Carman said he did not spend any of the money and did not think about spending the money."
An Apology
Carman apologized and returned $650,000 to Brinks, according to the report.
“But officials had to meet with Carman four more times after branches with LAFCU still showed they were missing money and found out Carman stole more than originally thought, the complaint said,” WWJ stated.
Court papers documented that Carman met his Brinks manager at least four more times to return large sums of cash, the report added.
The complaint alleges Carman stole money from 24 teller machines on six dates from his starting date to Dec. 28, totaling over $1,060,200 in funds.
The financial institutions Carman stole money from include, in addition to LAFCU, Lake Trust Credit Union, Michigan State University FCU, JPMorgan Chase Bank, Comerica Bank, Huntington Bank, and US Bank.
Carman is set to appear in court for trial on June 28 in Grand Rapids, Mich.
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