Beginning in March 2023, the former remote member service representative accessed the account information of at least 10 elderly members without a legitimate reason, according to court documents. She often accessed accounts after speaking with the targeted members by phone.

In some cases, Brown created online banking profiles for members who did not have them, allegedly without their knowledge.

Once she gained electronic access to members’ accounts, she transferred their funds via wire, electronic debit or Zelle to various external bank accounts. She kept each transfer below $25,000, the threshold that would have triggered greater security measures and scrutiny at SFCU, prosecutors said.

In addition to the $301,674 she stole, she attempted to steal another $126,851, federal prosecutors said.

Before Brown was criminally charged in June 2024, SFCU filed a civil lawsuit in August 2023 in Saline County Circuit Court in Benton. The lawsuit alleged Brown took members’ account information when she left her job in May 2023, enabling her to continue the fraud from her Saline County home.

Roughly two weeks after the civil filing, the court granted an injunction barring Brown from accessing members’ information. In March 2024, a civil judgment ordered her to repay the stolen amount of $301,674 plus 7.5% interest, an additional $16,638, based on SFCU’s claims that she breached fiduciary duty, committed fraud and violated her employment agreement.

Peter Strozniak can be reached at [email protected].