PROVO, Utah – A computer systems consultant for local credit unions yesterday was sentenced to five years in prison after he used passwords he obtained from four local credit union clients to steal almost $2 million.
Zeldon Morris was hired as an outside contractor by the Orem office of Open Solutions Inc. and provided with passwords and user IDs, which gave him unrestricted access to accounts and remote access to computer systems.
Morris, who owned a controlling interest in Provo-based Lee & Morris, used passwords to tap into accounts at the credit unions – Family First FCU, Alpine CU, Deseret First CU and First CU – and steal nearly $2 million through fraudulent electronic funds transfers between 2006 and March 2009, according to court records. He deposited the stolen funds into his personal accounts and into a business account for Lee & Morris.
The funds were used for a remodeling job on Morris' house in Provo, mortgage payments on two houses, to pay off his two vehicles, and to pay various banks, credit card companies and other debts, court documents said.
The fraud scheme was discovered when Morris' business partner came forward with his findings after investigating the company's accounts in October 2008.
Morris was ordered to forfeit property and pay restitution of $1.8 million.
