DAYTON, Ohio A federal judge yesterday dismissed a $10 million Privacy Act suit brought against Wright-Patt CU by a family who claimed the credit union illegally shared their account information with the FBI and local police investigating allegations of PIN or VIN flipping of heavy construction equipment rentals.
In its ruling the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Ohio said the information provided by the credit union to authorities is permissible under the Right to Financial Privacy Act, which the plaintiffs in the case alleged was violated by the $2.4 billion credit union.
The information was requested by the Vandalia Police Department, and later by the FBI, who were seeking financial records of David Bigi and Robert Bigi to help them identify suspicious transactions and the transfer of money from various personal accounts to aid in identifying the fraud scheme. The records requested were later expanded to include credit union accounts in the name of Tina Bigi, who held joint accounts with her husband David Bigi. In its dismissal of the suit, which was seeking $10 million in damages, the court found that release of the Bigis’ account information could reveal the "nature of the suspected illegal activity" and could aid in tracing the shuffling of money between accounts as a result of the fraudulent scheme.
There is no record that the investigation led to any criminal charges against the Bigis.
The Right to Financial Privacy Act restricts the federal government's ability to access a person's financial records. A financial institution is subject to liability under the law for prohibited disclosures to a "government authority" as defined by the Act
Right to Financial Privacy Act, noted the court, permits a credit union or bank to share confidential account information if; the customer has authorized the disclosure; the disclosure is in response to an administrative summons; the disclosure is in response to a search warrant; the disclosure is in response to a judicial subpoena or the disclosure is in response to a formal written request.
“The Court must dismiss both claims for failure to state a claim because (Wright-Patt) was permitted to divulge Plaintiffs' account information,” wrote the judge. “In the instant case, Plaintiffs David Bigi and Robert Bigi were under investigation by local and federal law enforcement for a possible PIN/VIN flipping scheme. Both local and federal law enforcement sought account records to identify suspicious transactions and the transfer of money from various personal accounts to aid in identifying the fraudulent scheme. The Court agrees with the rationale in Giannone v. Bank of America and finds that release of Plaintiffs' account information could reveal the "nature of the suspected illegal activity" and could aid in tracing the shuffling of money between accounts as a result of the fraudulent scheme.”
