Brothers Arrested After Allegedly Planning & Robbing a Massachusetts Credit Union
One of the brothers, who worked at Energy CU, became a suspect because he did not follow his training on credit union robbery procedures.
Two brothers, one of whom was a credit union teller, were arrested for allegedly planning and robbing the $128 million Energy Credit Union branch in West Roxbury, Mass., last week when the CFO, James Brouder, became suspicious of what appeared to be a clean and easy $197,146 heist.
Justin Flounoury, 32, and his brother Jenel Flounoury, 28, the teller, both of Brockton, were charged with larceny and conspiracy, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said. Boston Municipal Court Judge John Garland ordered the brothers held on $10,000 bail and to stay away from Energy CU. Both are due back in court on Oct. 30 for pre-trial hearings.
Jenel Flounoury told police investigators that at approximately 12:51 p.m. on Sept. 24 he was working at his teller station when an unknown male, later identified as Justin Flounoury, approached his window and wrote a note stating, “hand it over.”
Jenel immediately turned around and entered a closed door containing the main vault. He opened the top right vault, retrieved all the money in it, and packed approximately $197,146 in a blue ATM bag. After Jenel handed over the money bag to Justin he said, “Thank you, sir” and fled the bank in an unknown direction.
But Brouder became suspicious and informed police investigators that Jenel’s actions, such as not looking in his cash drawer, immediately going to the vault without being instructed to do so, and providing more than the amount demanded, were suspicious and inconsistent with how tellers are trained for robbery procedures. In addition, credit union officials also told investigators that Jenel was fired in May 2023 for violating credit union policy, but that he had been rehired in August.
Police investigators tailed Jenel when he left the credit union branch and saw him entering a residence in Brockton. During their surveillance, they observed the brothers start a fire in the side yard and burned what appeared to be clothing inside a grill.
At approximately 1:45 a.m., police investigators executed a search warrant on the Brockton residence and found a large amount of cash. The brothers were placed under arrest without incident.
“We’ve seen time and time again employees hatching what they think is a clever plan to steal from their workplace, and then we see those supposedly clever plans unravel, usually very quickly,” DA Hayden said. “The immediate suspicions of the bank officers and some extremely effective work by the investigative agencies involved led to these brothers answering to these charges in court.”