Tens of Thousands of Dollars Siphoned From Members' Accounts in Fraud Scheme
Richmond man faces sentencing after pleading guilty to bank fraud and possession of stolen mail.
A Virginia man is expected to be sentenced in August for running an elaborate fraud scheme that stole tens of thousands of dollars from members of the $5.3 billion Virginia Credit Union in North Chesterfield.
Olden Ellerbe III of Richmond pleaded guilty last month in federal court to one felony count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one felony count of possession of stolen mail.
Ellerbe was captured in November 2023 when a VACU manager called 911 after spotting the suspect and a second suspect, who were allegedly withdrawing thousands of dollars from an ITM at the credit union’s Scott’s Addition location. Police arrested Ellerbe but the second suspect got away.
When police searched Ellerbe’s backpack, it contained checks, nearly $60,000 in cash, credit and debit cards, and U.S. Savings Bonds.
Federal investigators said Ellerbe used stolen United States Postal Service keys to open collection boxes and took mail that contained personal and business checks, money orders, credit and debit cards, and other personally identifiable information. They repurposed the stolen checks by creating new check templates that incorporated the personal and financial information on the original check and replaced the name of the designated payees on the original check to a co-conspirator or accomplice.
Ellerbe and his co-conspirator used a card cracking process that included obtaining bank account and ITM personal identification information from a “complicit third party” who allegedly received a cash payment for providing that information, federal prosecutors wrote in court documents.
The fraudsters also obtained personal identifying and account information of member victims from the U.S. mail they stole or purchased on the dark web. Using that information, they created counterfeit checks, which were made payable to the complicit third party, who was not identified in court documents. They then used the third party’s ITM card and PIN to deposit the phony check and withdrew the cash.
On Nov. 15, 2023, Ellerbe and another man withdrew $84,000 from a VACU member’s account at three different credit union ITMs, according to court documents.
In September, Ellerbe stole more than $7,700 from a second VACU’s member account and $20,000 from a third VACU member’s account.