CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — A former loan officer at a Dubuque-area credit union has pleaded guilty to federal charges stemming from a scheme in which she concealed vehicle liens, sold collateral securing loans and later made false statements in a bankruptcy proceeding, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa.
Kylie Jo Bench, formerly known as Kylie Jo Parrish, 27, of Burlington, Iowa, pleaded guilty May 27 in federal court in Cedar Rapids to one count of bankruptcy fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
According to prosecutors, Bench was hired by a Dubuque credit union in 2022 as a loan officer at its Burlington branch. At the time, she had outstanding loans totaling more than $100,000 on two late-model vehicles — a Ford and a Dodge — held by other financial institutions. After joining the credit union, Bench and another individual refinanced the vehicle loans through her employer, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
The U.S. Attorney did not identify the specific credit union.
How Scheme Worked
Prosecutors alleged that in August 2022, Bench sold both vehicles to a Cedar Rapids dealership without the credit union’s knowledge and failed to disclose or record the credit union’s security interests in the vehicles.
Instead, Bench provided the dealership with a letter purportedly signed by a credit union executive and printed on fraudulent letterhead, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The letter falsely stated the loans had been paid in full and carried a zero balance. In reality, neither Bench nor the co-borrower had repaid the loans that had recently been refinanced through the credit union, prosecutors said.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Bench later caused an attorney to file documents in a voluntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy case in March 2023 in which she falsely stated under oath that she had not transferred property to benefit an insider. Prosecutors said the statement was false because the sale of the Ford and Dodge benefited another individual who remained obligated on the vehicle loans.
Sentencing Not Yet Set
Sentencing before Chief U.S. District Judge C.J. Williams has not yet been scheduled and will take place after preparation of a presentence investigation report. Bench remains free on bond.
The bankruptcy fraud charge and aggravated identity theft conviction carry a mandatory minimum prison term of two years and a potential maximum sentence of seven years in prison, along with a possible $500,000 fine and up to three years of supervised release, according to prosecutors.
