The chief executive of Embarcadero Federal Credit Union here said the credit union has worked to close off potential security holes following a case where a temporary office worker allegedly was able to obtain a $3.1-million home equity line of credit for himself.
Judi Santos, Embarcadero FCU's president, said the FBI told her David Read, 23, is in Tennessee, awaiting extradition to California.
Read allegedly was able to set up the phony loan and transfer $300,000 to outside accounts during the 30 days he worked at the credit union.
At the time, Read was an employee of OfficeTeam, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based company which describes itself as the "world's largest specialized temporary staffing service for administrative professionals."
"We have managed to recover a considerable amount of the money," Santos told The Credit Union Journal.
Santos complimented the FBI for what she said was quick work. "They came in, got the information, and within 30 days, picked him up. I thought it would take six months or more."
According to Santos, Read knew much more about computer systems than anyone at Embarcadero Federal Credit Union realized. Santos did not wish to give too many details about a pending case or the credit union's security, but she noted the CU has put "major changes in place" to prevent a reoccurrence in the future.
"We have put in controls, and we are working on more. We are trying to play criminal, which is a little difficult for us," she said.
