Four Men Exploit Security Weakness in Credit Union for Nearly $500,000 Heist Before Being Indicted by US Government: Report

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is indicting four men linked with a scheme that exploited weaknesses in a credit union for about half a million dollars.

In a new press release, the DOJ says it’s charging the four men from North Carolina for allegedly defrauding the State Employees’ Credit Union (SECU) by taking advantage of a security weakness related to how the system reconciled account balances.

Authorities say that during the summer of 2022, the men secured access to numerous SECU accounts and artificially inflated the account balances by repeatedly making deposits and withdrawals before the reconciliation period, tricking the system and making large cash withdrawals “in excess” of the true account balances.

The defendants are accused of making large withdrawals during the reconciliation period, leaving the accounts with negative balances that would never be repaid. The News & Observer reports that the scheme allowed the crew to drain nearly $500,000 from SECU accounts.

As stated by US Attorney Ellis Boyle in the press release,

“Protecting the integrity of banks and credit unions that serve North Carolina’s public is a top priority. We will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to investigate allegations of fraud and safeguard the trust and money placed in these institutions.”

The defendants – 27-year-old Quavedrian Da’mon Gibson, 27-year-old Keyondre Deionta Purvis, 29-year-old Michael Raekwon Ryner and 29-year-old Calvin Daminice Stewart – have been indicted with charges of bank fraud and conspiracy.

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