In April 2022, an unidentified co-conspirator approached Taylor to participate in a check fraud scheme. In exchange for her inside help, she received $10,000.

Unidentified co-conspirators provided Taylor with the names of specific VACU accounts they had identified as target accounts for fraudulent withdrawals. She then accessed this compromised credit union member information to obtain their bank account numbers and routing numbers to create phony counter checks from the accounts of three members. Between April and May 2022, Taylor printed at least 16 fraudulent counter checks, drafted on the VACU accounts of the three members, prosecutors said.

The co-conspirators successfully negotiated one of the fraudulent counter checks for $40,000, which was drawn on the account of one member. The co-conspirators were able to negotiate this check because Taylor personally processed the transaction during one of her work shifts.

What's more, in order to conceal and forestall detection of the fraud, Taylor printed signature cards for the victims' bank accounts in order to allow her co-conspirators to forge the victims' signatures on the fraudulent counter checks, prosecutors said.

Court documents showed that Taylor and the co-conspirators attempted to deposit a second fake check for $26,000 and a third phony check for $8,500.

"Notwithstanding these egregious facts, there are also mitigating factors well-worth mentioning here," prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memo to Judge Young. "First, the defendant committed this offense at the request of co-conspirators who recruited her to the conspiracy. The defendant had no knowledge regarding the mechanics of the fraud scheme until she was instructed to take particular steps by the co-conspirators, nor did she identify the specific victim accounts, rather she processed counter checks following the instructions provided to her. In total, her participation in the fraudulent conduct spanned less than two weeks. Second, upon learning of the federal investigation, the defendant immediately and unequivocally accepted responsibility for her actions, conserving judicial and prosecutorial resources. She immediately waived indictment and pled guilty to a criminal information."

Prosecutors also noted that Taylor agreed to forfeit the $10,000 in fraud proceeds that she received. They also noted that she demonstrated what appeared to be genuine remorse for her actions, and she had no other criminal history.

Taylor's defense attorney agreed with prosecutors' sentencing recommendation, writing in a separate sentencing memo to Judge Young that the "savvy co-conspirators recruited Ms. Taylor, exploited her naïveté, and inveigled her to engage in criminal activity."

Prosecutors did not indicate in court documents whether Taylor's co-conspirators were arrested and charged. They did not respond to CU Times for a request for comment.