Former Branch Manager Allegedly Stole Members’ Funds to Promote Herself on TikTok

A former assistant branch manager for a California credit union allegedly stole from members’ accounts to promote herself on TikTok and to send money to her boyfriend in Texas, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Fresno said.

Esther Andrade Olson, 48, of Hanford, was arrested Thursday on the charge that she allegedly embezzled more than $60,000 from multiple members’ accounts at the Tulare branch of the $4.6 billion Educational Employees Credit Union based in Fresno.

According to court documents, Olson began working at the credit union in 2005 and was promoted to assistant branch manager in 2019.

From July to August in 2022, Olson made several unauthorized withdrawals from four members’ accounts, including seven withdrawals totaling $35,000 from one member.

When questioned by EECU’s risk management team that was investigating the alleged fraud on Sept. 15, 2022, Olson said, “I know how this goes. I’m done.” She then quit her job without any prior notice to the credit union and later landed a new job at another financial institution, according to court documents.

TikTok records produced in response to an FBI subpoena confirmed that Olson has a TikTok account with thousands of followers, according to an FBI affidavit in support of the criminal complaint against Olson filed in U.S. District Court in Bakersfield.

Olson’s EECU’s account records and her account records from Bank One show that from April to December in 2022, she spent more than $60,000 on TikTok.

TikTok users can send each other TikTok coins, which are purchased with cash. The coins can be converted into virtual credits called diamonds that can be withdrawn by recipients on TikTok. The diamonds can be exchanged for money for deposit into their bank accounts.

The FBI investigation revealed that Olson had dated a man in Texas who she met on TikTok. This man, who was not identified in the affidavit, had hundreds of thousands of followers.

Olson sent this man thousands of dollars and traveled to Texas on several occasions while she was allegedly stealing cash from EECU’s members, according to the FBI investigation.

Olson appeared before a magistrate judge Thursday and was ordered to be detained by authorities until a detention hearing Friday afternoon in Bakersfield’s federal court. Olson did not enter a plea, court documents showed.