The NCUA last week banned two tellers, one who helped plan two robberies of a Texas credit union and another who stole money from accounts of elderly members at a credit union in Virginia.
Desire Valverde, 23, a former teller of the $254 million Education Credit Union in Amarillo, Texas, was sentenced in July to more than eight years in federal prison, after she pleaded guilty to credit union robbery and aiding and abetting a credit union robbery.
During an investigation of two Education CU branch robberies in May and September 2016, FBI agents learned Valverde provided one of the robbers with information on how and when to commit each robbery.
What’s more, FBI investigators said Valverde was in contact with one of the robbers by phone during both armed robberies.
On May 25, 2016, she was working as a teller and gave one of the suspects money from her cash drawer. For her help, Valverde was paid a portion of the money stolen from Education CU, according to court documents.
U.S. District Court Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater also ordered Valverde to pay $53,519 in restitution and to two years of supervised release after serving her prison sentence.
Four other people who were involved in the credit union robberies were received prison sentences.
James Nathan Sheppard, a former employee of the $8.5 million Virginia State University Federal Credit Union in South Chesterfield, was sentenced in June to more than three years in prison after he pleaded guilty to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft in U.S. District Court in Richmond, Va.
For almost two years, federal prosecutors said Sheppard embezzled more than $125,000 by recording fake withdrawals from accounts of elderly VSUFCU members. He also stole money from ATM deposit envelopes, according to court documents.
His scheme was exposed when a member from whom Sheppard had stolen funds used the drive-thru teller window to discuss an unexplained $19,000 shortfall in his account. Sheppard happened to be working at the drive-thru teller window that day.
Another VSUFCU employee observed Sheppard crediting the members’ account with large sums of cash on his computer, which seemed unusual because the member had not deposited any cash with Sheppard, federal prosecutors said.
The credit union’s management later discovered Sheppard had attempted to conceal the fraud by transferring $18,000 from two other member accounts to the account of the member who inquired about the $19,000 shortfall.
When confronted, Sheppard apologized, left the credit union branch and did not return.
U.S. District Court Judge Robert E. Payne also ordered Sheppard to pay restitution of $125,805 and serve six years of supervised release following his prison term.
