Former Navy Federal Credit Union Employee Charged With Bank Fraud
In less than a month, Johnathan Coleman allegedly defrauds 38 member accounts out of $357,491.
Johnathan Coleman Jr. began working at a Florida branch of the $156 billion Navy Federal Credit Union on July 2, 2021. By Aug. 6, he defrauded 38 member accounts out of a total of $357,491, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE).
About two weeks later, a Navy Federal senior investigator confronted Coleman, 28, of Delray Beach about the suspected theft and reported it to police.
“Navy Federal takes the privacy and security of our members’ personal information seriously,” a Navy Federal spokesperson said Friday. “While we can’t comment on the ongoing legal proceedings, Navy Federal works closely with law enforcement to ensure arrest and prosecution. Impacted members have been made whole, and we are continuing to coordinate with the authorities to protect those affected.”
Evidence provided by Navy Federal to police investigators showed that Coleman had access to member accounts and provided their personal information to an unidentified suspect, according to a police arrest and probable cause warrant filed in Escambia County Court. The suspect allegedly used member information to make unauthorized internal transfers of funds. Within three days of each illegal transfer made by the unidentified suspect, Coleman received payments of nearly $30,000, according to investigators.
He also allegedly approached other Navy Federal members to deposit funds in their accounts. In exchange for using their accounts, they allegedly kept a portion of the deposit and transferred the balance of those deposited funds to Coleman via CashApp of AppleCash/Green Dot Bank, according to police. Navy Federal records showed that Coleman received numerous suspicious deposits from these apps.
Although the fraud involving the Navy Federal member accounts amounted to $357,491, the total amount of loss to the credit union was approximately $206,451, according to police.
Investigators with FDLE’s Miami Regional Operations Center, with assistance from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, arrested Coleman on Tuesday.
After he was charged with bank fraud, grand theft and organized fraud, Coleman was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail on a $115,000 bond.