Former North Carolina Credit Union Employees Face Criminal Charges

Two former North Carolina credit union employees are being prosecuted, one for stealing member information and the other for allegedly stealing funds from members.

Davia Delores Lockley, 26, a teller at the $52.1 billion SECU in Raleigh, pleaded guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Wilmington for her role in a scheme to steal members’ account information, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of North Carolina. In a separate case, Barbara Sabrina Clinkscales-Stowe, a financial services representative at the $66 million Winston-Salem Federal Credit Union, has been charged with six felony counts of embezzlement, according to the Forsyth County District Attorney’s office.

Lockley participated in a scheme to defraud the credit union and its members while working at a SECU Raleigh branch. Federal prosecutors said Lockley was recruited by other conspirators to identify member accounts that contained significant funds and lacked a member photo on file. She then accessed members’ information on the credit union’s IT systems, including account numbers and personal identifiers, and sent that information to conspirators using cell phones or by handwritten notes. Federal prosecutors did not identify the conspirators.

Between January 2021 and June 2021, Lockley compromised the accounts of at least six members, according to federal prosecutors. She pleaded guilty to one count of access device fraud.

“SECU takes all instances of fraud very seriously and is committed to protecting our members’ assets and privacy,” a SECU spokesperson said in a prepared statement. “The charges against our former employee are highly disturbing and contrary to SECU’s Code of Ethics and the high standards that our employees are expected to maintain. We trust that our judicial system will take appropriate action in this case.”

In a prepared statement, federal prosecutors indicated this fraudulent scheme involved other employees from other credit unions and banks, but because an investigation is ongoing, the names of the other employees and institutions involved is not public information yet.

In their prepared statement, prosecutors also said runners were recruited to enter various banks and credit unions to withdraw funds from victim accounts. To facilitate the fraudulent withdrawals, conspirators obtained counterfeit drivers licenses using the victims’ personal identifiers and the runners’ photographs. The proceeds of the fraud were split amongst those involved in the scheme. Prosecutors do not say whether Lockley received any funds for her participation in the scheme.

Although Lockley’s plea deal is listed on the federal docket, it is not available for public and media inspection.

“In our district, plea agreements are filed under seal so we do not distribute them or discuss the details,” a spokesperson for prosecutors said.

Lockley is scheduled to be sentenced in March 2023. She was released from federal custody on bond.

In a separate case, Barbara Sabrina Clinkscale-Stowe turned herself in on  Nov. 21 to police investigators who have charged her with allegedly embezzling more than $47,000 from member accounts.

Clinkscale-Stowe began working for Winston-Salem FCU in 1994. Starting in 2017, however, she allegedly began stealing funds from members and continued her theft until earlier this year.

At the request of the credit union, financial crime investigators for the Winston-Salem Police Department launched an investigation in August.

Investigators determined the former credit union employee allegedly stole $47,166 from various members accounts over six years. They do not say how many member accounts were involved, how Clinkscales-Stowe concealed her alleged embezzlement, and how she spent the funds.

“We cannot comment at this time as it is too early in the legal proceedings,” Winston-Salem FCU President/CEO John Jameson said. “I would be glad to comment after Ms. Clinkscales-Stowe’s case has been resolved.”