YORK, Pa. — A parolee is back in jail after attempting to defraud a credit union in order to pay back debts incurred during a previous prison term.
Daniel Flash of Brooklyn, N.Y., is accused of identity theft and attempting to defraud First Capital FCU here out of $25,000. The case began when attempted to join the $150 million CU using the name Robert Garcher. Flash produced an Ohio driver's license with that name but was unable to name the member who referred him to First Capital, could not answer questions related to his credit report, and even mispronounced the name of the company (and SEG) he claimed to work for.
The would-be fraudster was requesting a $25,000 loan. According to VP of marketing Tara Houser, the CU does not normally make $25,000 loans to brand new members, but sometimes makes exceptions. Had Flash been a legitimate member, he likely would've been approved.
"The credit report came back stellar," said VP of marketing Tara Houser. "The guy who he stole the ID from had stellar credit, so maybe it would've been given to him as an exception."
Houser said that FCFCU reps, believing Flash was trying to commit identity theft, asked him to come back after the weekend to sign the paperwork for his membership and loan. During that time, the CU contacted the Springettsbury Township Police Department and worked with them to set up a sting for the following week. Additionally, the CU did its own research on the man Flash was claiming to be — Robert Garcher of Ohio. Among the discrepancies between the two, said Houser, was that the real Robert Garcher is Caucasian, while the fraudster was African-American.
The Sting
First Capital set up an appointment with Flash for the following Monday at a specific time — including arranging to have the police there. However Flash later postponed the appointment to another day before arriving at the branch two hours before his scheduled time slot. The only person able to meet with him at that time, said Houser, was the CU's branch manager — but her office faces the street and Flash would be able to see the police coming, so the cops had to come in through an employees-only entrance at the back of the building.
The police asked First Capital to complete the loan process with Flash, including creating documents and having him sign for the loan. Once he forged Robert Garcher's signature, "the police rushed in and threw him up against the wall," said Houser.
The VP noted that the branch manager working with Flash at the time said he "was looking shady, kept looking around, and was on his cell phone we believe the entire time, because when the police grabbed the cell phone it looked like he had a call on it. We think he probably had a getaway driver on the call, because when they went outside there was no one there to get him. We don't know where he was dropped off, and there was no one there to pick him up."
Flash's real identity eventually came out, including that he was wanted in connection with $35,000 in fraud at financial institutions in Connecticut. In addition to First Capital, Flash also attempted to obtain a fraudulent loan at nearby New Cumberland FCU. Representatives there did not return calls from Credit Union Journal seeking comment.
Flash has been charged with a felony and is believed to be part of a ring of criminals hitting financial institutions across the East Coast. A representative from the Springettsbury Township Police Department told CU Journal that they are looking into the ring. A preliminary hearing is expected within a month, but it could be as much as a year before Flash goes to trial.
Hopefully Helping Other FIs
First Capital's Houser said that the CU does not plan to change any of its policies around detecting fraud. Among the lessons the CU learned as a result of this, she said, is that training is crucial, including knowing what red flags to look for.
"Anything that seems to not make sense, delve into it a little deeper," she advised. "I'm not advocating for somebody to set up a sting like this, but the police were willing to help us out and work with us... and hopefully we stopped this ring or at least cut down on the number of victims they're hitting. Maybe we saved another potential victim or financial institution from becoming a victim."
As for the fraudster, Daniel Flash was originally jailed with bail set at $250,000, but as more charges were added bail was raised to $1.5 million.
