Grand Jury Indicts Former Lending Director for $1.2 Million Embezzlement
Kevin Robert Lee pleads not guilty to 23 felony counts of bank fraud, ID theft and filing false tax returns.
A federal grand jury returned a 23-count felony indictment last week against the former Florida State University Credit Union lending director who allegedly stole and attempted to steal more than $1.2 million.
Kevin Robert Lee, 35, was arrested and arraigned Friday in U.S. District Court in Tallahassee on 20 felony counts of bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, theft from a lending institution and three counts of filing false tax returns, Lawrence Keefe, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, said.
Lee, of Tallahassee, pleaded not guilty to the felony charges. His trial is scheduled to begin April 15.
According to the indictment, Lee allegedly stole $910,696 from credit union member accounts. The alleged theft began in May 2015 and continued through November 2017.
At the end of November 2017 in a move very rarely taken by credit unions, FSUCU publicly announced its long-time employee Lee had been fired for embezzling more than $800,000. After learning of member account discrepancies, FSUCU immediately launched an investigation, restored the affected accounts, reached out to victimized members and notified the police.
Lee fraudulently opened FSUCU accounts by forging the signatures of members and opened lines of credit for on these accounts without their authorization, federal prosecutors alleged in the indictment.
What’s more, the former lending director allegedly made withdrawals and transfers of funds from about 20 FSUCU members and used the money to pay his mortgage, car loan, credit cards and school tuition.
When members complained about the unauthorized withdrawals or reported their low account balances, it’s alleged that Lee falsely told members the credit union had closed their accounts and then mailed members a check. To cover up his crime, Lee allegedly accessed other members’ accounts to replace the money he had stolen, according to the indictment.
He also allegedly concealed his embezzlement by using the fraudulent lines of credit to repay money he had stolen from member accounts and to pay down the balances of the lines of credit.
Lee was also charged with aggravated identity theft for allegedly using FSUCU member names, their dates of birth and Social Security numbers to open fake accounts and lines of credit.
Additionally, he faces three counts of filing false tax returns for the 2015-2017 calendar years for underreporting his annual income.
The maximum penalty for bank fraud is 30 years in prison. However, Lee faces a two-year mandatory minimum prison sentence for aggravated identity theft if he is convicted, federal prosecutors said.