BALTIMORE – A woman who prosecutors say was the ringleader of a bank fraud and identity theft scheme that hit as many as two dozen mid-Atlantic credit unions last week was sentenced in federal court to six years in prison for her role in the conspiracy.
Latesha Brown, 33, was at the center of a conspiracy that involved a group of friends and family, including her boyfriend, Christopher Houston, and her brother, Donald Brown. The group sought fraudulent loans, using falsely-created, modified or stolen identities, from credit unions where Latesha Brown was employed.
Brown obtained access to credit union systems while working for at least three credit unions – Aberdeen Proving Ground FCU, Transit Employees FCU and Municipal Employees CU – and having membership in almost 20 credit unions, all by using phony identification, work records and Social Security numbers, stolen notary stamp seals and credit union paraphernalia, such as proprietary ink stamps.
The scheme is believed to have siphoned more than $500,000 in fraudulent loans, mostly auto or signature loans, from the three credit unions where Brown worked, as well as HARCO FCU, Navy FCU, State Employees CU of Maryland, Citadel FCU, Freedom FCU, Freedom CU, Johns Hopkins FCU, Pennsylvania State Employees CU, Philadelphia FCU, Susquehanna Valley FCU, and DEXSTA FCU, among others.
Brown was sentenced to six years in prison, followed by seven years of supervised release, for bank fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft. She was ordered to pay $124,000 in restitution.
Prosecutors also said Latesha Brown processed the loan applications in a deficient manner, intentionally failing to collect all of the necessary supporting paperwork for a loan, and assisted the co-conspirators in withdrawing their ill-gotten loan funds so as to avoid detection.
Latesha Brown facilitated the false vehicle loans so the conspirators received clear titles to their “financed” vehicles without liens being placed on the vehicles. The absence of the liens meant the credit unions had no collateral when the conspirators defaulted on their loans, so the credit unions were prevented from seizing the vehicle or other assets after the individuals failed to make payments on the loan. The use of the false Social Security numbers prevented the credit unions from tracking down the borrowers.
According to the plea agreement, Brown established a cellular telephone line exclusively for “Marybeth Wright,” a fictitious former supervisor, which she, Houston and other conspirators used to receive phone calls from credit union personnel and other prospective employers seeking to confirm their prior employment history. All of the individuals involved in the scheme, including Brown, Houston and Donald Brown, listed this number on their loan applications, prosecutors said.
Two accomplices have pleaded guilty to the bank fraud conspiracy and face a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison at their sentencing hearings, scheduled for Sept. 22.
