Former Navy Federal Employee Sentenced to Prison for Fraud Scheme

Maryland federal prosecutors described Jalen Craig McMillan as a corrupt former bank employee who facilitated a sophisticated fraud scheme to steal more than $420,000 from Navy Federal Credit Union. Earlier this year, a jury found the fraudulent insider guilty of three counts of bank fraud, one count of conspiracy and 11 counts of aggravated identity theft.

For these crimes, U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte in Greenbelt sentenced McMillan, 30, of Jessup, last week to 54 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release, and ordered him to pay restitution of $165,891 and a $500 assessment.

Following the sentencing hearing on June 6, McMillan was taken into custody to begin his prison sentence. On that same day, his lawyer filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, Va.

According to the evidence presented before a jury during his four-day trial in February, McMillan used his position as a Navy Federal member service representative at the credit union’s Laurel, Md., branch to open accounts using stolen identities of other persons and, at times, the identities of Navy Federal members to make fraudulent financial transactions.

He facilitated this scheme along with four other co-defendants, including Jovan Bell who also worked at the same Navy Federal branch as a member service representative with McMillan. Bell pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and is scheduled to be sentenced in July, according to court filings. The other three co-defendants, who were not Navy Federal employees, included Archie Arnold Paul, 31, of Laurel, Md., John Fitzgerald Washington, 52, of Waldorf, Md., and Tiffany Rainel Williams, 37, of Glenarden, Md.

As detailed during the trial and in court documents, Paul and other unidentified coconspirators used the stolen identities, which Paul and Washington used to manufacture and procure false identification documents displaying the stolen identities along with the photographs of other persons.

Prosecutors identified Paul as the primary leader and organizer of the fraud scheme.

Paul and Williams used the false identification documents to impersonate the victims.

With the help of McMillan, they opened Navy Federal accounts to facilitate fraudulent financial transactions, including making large withdrawals from accounts.

In one instance, Navy Federal records showed that McMillan opened an account for Paul under the identity of a Navy Federal member and then used that member’s personal identification to apply for a $15,000 personal loan, which was approved. McMillan withdrew the $15,000 and gave it to Paul, according to court documents.

Trial evidence showed that McMillan and the co-defendants intended to fraudulently obtain $420,324 from Navy Federal and successfully defrauded the credit union out of $165,891.

Paul, who pleaded guilty to five counts of bank fraud, five counts of aggravated identity theft, one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of possessing a firearm as a felon, was sentenced in March to 78 months in prison. He also was ordered to pay $151,091 in restitution and a $1,200 assessment.

Washington, who pleaded guilty to bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud, was sentenced to time served in February and was ordered to pay $135,969 in restitution, court documents showed.

Williams, who pleaded guilty to six counts of bank fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and 12 counts of aggravated ID theft, was sentenced to 57 months in prison in March. She also was ordered to pay $151,091 in restitution and a $300 assessment.