How a Crane FCU Employee Helped Catch a 'Fraud-in-Progress'

At 3:52 p.m. on Oct. 24, an employee at the Bloomington, Ind., branch of the $989 million Crane Federal Credit Union called police to report a fraud-in-progress, which ended after a high-speed chase and the arrest of an Ohio woman who allegedly stole $25,000.

The suspect, Mary Misener, walked into the branch lobby, and used what the credit union employee suspected was a fake driver’s license. Misener also claimed to be a Crane member, according to police.

The employee’s suspicion proved to be correct.

“It was later determined that the same female presented the same false identification card at two other Crane Credit Union locations (Plainfield and Franklin) for a total of $25,000 over the course of the afternoon,” according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office in Bloomington.

When sheriff’s deputies were on their way to respond to the fraud-in-progress, they learned Misener left the branch and was driving a rented 2023 Chevrolet Equinox.

Deputies tried to initiate a traffic stop but Misener didn’t pull over and began to speed away. When the chase reached 120 miles per hour in heavy traffic, a police supervisor called off the pursuit.

Later, sheriff’s deputies from Morgan County spotted the suspect’s vehicle, pursued it and used a precision immobilization technique that caused Misener’s vehicle to spin out and come to a stop.

Although police reported Misener stole $25,000, they found nearly $4,000 when they searched her car. They also found several phony ID cards.

After she was taken into custody she was charged with fraud, identity deception, possession of a false government ID, resisting police and reckless driving.

The incident remains under investigation, police said.