PENSACOLA, Fla.–A woman here has been charged with defrauding a credit union of $79,000.
Kymberlee Kay Victor, 24, was charged with felony fraud and felony grand theft.
According to prosecutors and NorthEscambia.com, Victor allegedly made multiple transfers from an account at Wells Fargo to Gulf Winds Credit Union beginning in February.
“After the first transfers of just under $10,000 each, Gulf Winds reached out to Victor for verbal verification and she told them she was purchasing a vehicle, according to an arrest report,” NorthEscambia.com reported. “Multiple additional transfers just under $10,000 each were not flagged by the Gulf Winds system due to the activity being consistent with the same device always signing in.”
The report said that beginning in March, the alleged transfers were returned due to a stop payment and closed account, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said.
Ten Transfers
Victor allegedly received a total of $89,000 from 10 transfer deposits to Gulf Winds, and the funds were spent through debit card purchases, ATM withdrawals and cash withdrawals at different Gulf Winds branches, the arrest report states, NorthEscambia.com added.
“Gulf Winds told investigators that she made a total of $89,329 in deposits, withdrawing $79,309.75 for the account, which was the total loss to the credit union,” the report states. “The ECSO report notes that shortly after the transactions, Victor posted on a GoFundMe page asking for financial assistance following a house fire, claiming that she lost her home and everything in it.”
No Charges in Fire
NorthEscambia.com reported that the Escambia County Fire Rescue determined the fire started in a nearby shed before spreading and causing heavy damage to a mobile home on White’s Lane. ECFR said the shed was a total loss, and the mobile home will need extensive repairs. Victor has not been charged with any wrongdoing in connection with the fire.
Victor was released Thursday night from Escambia County Jail on a $40,000 bond, according to the report.
How to Sign Up For the Best Daily News Email in Credit Unions? (It’s Free!)
Every workday CUToday.info delivers the most comprehensive, freshest daily newsletter with the day’s news headlines, including links to the related articles. The Fresh Today newsletter is the most timely, relevant and widely-read source of news and information in the CU community. And it’s free!
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 did we mention it’s free?