Jessica Vidal, a former member services representative, andConnie Ortiz, former assistant branch manager, were indicted lastweek for embezzling more than $51,000 from the $423 millionPima Federal Credit Union in Tucson, Ariz.

Vidal was charged with 21 felony counts of bank fraud andaggravated identify theft, which she allegedly committed while sheworked at PFCU as a member services representative who assistedmembers with loan applications.

From July 2010 to July 2013, Vidal allegedly fraudulentlyobtained cash withdrawals from eight member accounts, according toan indictment. Vidal also was accused by prosecutors byfraudulently obtaining loans by opening new accounts using thenames and Social Security number of members.

She allegedly used some of the stolen funds to buy a GMC truck.Vidal also prevented members from receiving their accountstatements by altering account information by changing theiraddresses or using her credit union email address on a member'saccount to misdirect communications.

Ortiz, who worked as a PFCU assistant branch manager, allegedlycovered up Vidal's fraud scheme in April 2012. Court documents alsoshow two days after Vidal was fired by the credit union on July 29,2013, Ortiz removed $7,000 in loan funds from a member's account,which had been fraudulently obtained earlier by Vidal.

Meanwhile in other fraud cases, Guerryson Torres of Tampa Fla.,was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison and ordered to payrestitution of nearly $1 million for defrauding the $1.6 billionGTE FCU in Tampa and the $1.9 billion Grow Financial CU in Tampa.

Guerryson Torres, 50, admitted to conspiring with others todefraud GTEFCU and Grow Financial CU. He owned a company that soldcars and boats that had been repossessed by the credit unions;Torres admitted that he submitted fake invoices underreporting thereal sales price of vehicles and pocketed the difference.

Torres also sold 77 cars for GTEFCU but never paid the creditunion, according to court documents. Torres was ordered to payrestitution to the credit unions totaling $973,486.

Dominque Avery of Portsmouth, Va., was sentenced to 87 months infederal prison and ordered to pay more than $197,0000 forparticipating in a bank fraud scheme that targeted the $58.1billion Navy FCU in Virginia, Va., and the $420 million ABNB FCU in Chesapeake, Va.

Sentenced in U.S. District Court in Norfolk, Va., Avery, 20,stole or purchased the identities of other people to apply foronline checking and savings accounts at Navy and ABNB, and threeother financial institutions.

Avery caused a third-party check issuing service to send dozensof fraudulent checks to various vendors and individuals. He wasarrested in August 2012 while attempting to buy two checks withfraudulent ABNB checks, according to prosecutors.

Although Avery was ordered to pay restitution of more than$197,000, the total intended losses were $737,000, prosecutorssaid.