Armed Transport Guard Steals $580,000 From Credit Union & Bank ATMs
Austin Rutherford siphons funds from Alaska ATMs at NuVision FCU, Global FCU and three banks.
A former armed transport guard will be sentenced in August after he admitted in federal court that he stole nearly $580,000 from credit union and bank ATMs over a period of more than two years, the U.S. Attorney’s Officer in Juneau, Alaska said last week.
Austin Nolan Dwight Rutherford, 29, of Juneau, pleaded guilty to two felony counts of theft, embezzlement and misapplication of funds, according to a plea deal filed in U.S. District Court in Juneau.
He worked as an armed transport guard for Axiom Armored Transport, which provided armed transportation for cash deliveries for ATMs at the $3 billion NuVision Credit Union based in Huntington Beach, Calif., the $11.7 billion Global Federal Credit Union (formerly Alaska USA) in Anchorage, U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo Bank and Key Bank.
Rutherford admitted he stole ATM cash from March 2020 through May 2022.
Although Rutherford was fired in March 2022, he continued to make cash deposits into his bank accounts through May last year that were above and beyond any legitimate sources identified during the investigation, according to court documents.
An internal audit determined Rutherford stole a total of $579,400 in credit union and bank funds.
Court documents did not say how the theft was initially detected or how Rutherford managed to conceal it for more than two years.