TACOMA, Wash.— A Tacoma woman who used her brief work-from-home job at a credit union to steal member account information and enable a six-figure fraud scheme has been sentenced to 30 months in federal prison.
In Iowa, meanwhile, a man has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison for a scheme involving bogus auto loans at credit unions.
In Washington, U.S. District Judge Jamal N. Whitehead handed down the sentence for Aneicia Ford, 32, calling her conduct a serious breach of trust. “Your employer trusted you with access to customers’ personal information,” Whitehead said. “Real people suffered real harm from the actions that you took.”
According to court records, Ford worked from May to August 2022 as a contact center representative for the unnamed credit union, assisting members with account issues from her home. In that role, federal prosecutors said, she had access to sensitive identifying information and, within days of completing training, began stealing customer data.
Information Provided to Co-Defendant
Investigators said Ford provided the information to a co-defendant, 23-year-old Dangelo Roberts, who distributed it to others involved in the conspiracy. Using the stolen data, Roberts and additional conspirators allegedly created false IDs, requested debit cards, raised ATM withdrawal limits and carried out in-branch cash withdrawals — in some cases taking as much as $25,000 at a time.
The group also used victims’ funds to order cashier’s checks and postal money orders or to move money between accounts to facilitate the thefts. In total, prosecutors said, the scheme drained roughly $345,000 from member accounts.
‘Crucial Role’
While Ford did not participate directly in the withdrawals, investigators said she played a crucial role by analyzing customer accounts to identify lucrative targets, relying on information only she could access, such as balances, age and occupation.
Ford pleaded guilty on May 20, 2025. Roberts and other alleged co-conspirators also face charges in the case, prosecutors said.
Seven–Year Sentence for Scheme
Separately, in Iowa, a Davenport man received a federal prison sentence of more than seven years for fraud involving fake military IDs and passports in a scheme that targeted credit unions.
Jeffrey Blake Palmer, 44, pleaded guilty to financial institution fraud and aggravated identity theft on May 27. Federal prosecutors say from June to September 2021, Palmer and Maegen Fortin used stolen personal information to fraudulently apply for financial services from credit unions. They provided false documents, including fraudulent passports and military IDs, to secure accounts and loans, prosecutors said.
Auto Loan of More Than $50K
According to KIMT, in one instance, they were accused of opening a joint account in Cedar Rapids and receiving auto loans totaling more than $57,000.
Palmer, a seven-time felon, was sentenced to 94 months by Chief Judge C.J. Williams and must pay $253,572.26 in restitution. He will serve a five-year supervised release after his sentence, KIMT reported.
Fortin was sentenced to 93 months’ imprisonment on charges related to this scheme.
