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A former vice president for a Houston credit union call center admitted to stealing more than $40,000 from a 99-year-old member and split the funds with a co-conspirator.
According to a plea deal, Claudia Wells agreed to plead guilty to one felony count of embezzlement on Dec. 2 in federal court.
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Wells, who worked as a vice president of the call center since 2013, admitted that she used her position at the $1.7 billion First Community Credit Union to set up an online account without the permission of the elderly member, identified in court documents as TD.
The former vice president of First Community's call center also admitted that she transferred TD's $43,000 to an account of a co-conspirator who was not identified in court documents. After siphoning the funds from the elderly member's account, Wells fraudulently wrote on documents that the transfer of funds was for a boat purchase.
On several occasions in 2019, the co-conspirator withdrew $9,000 from his First Community account that originally came from TD's account.
TD never authorized Wells, the co-conspirator or anyone else to transfer funds from TD's account who never purchased a boat, federal prosecutors said.
The plea deal also required Wells to pay restitution.
Her sentencing hearing is scheduled for March.
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Peter Strozniak
Credit Union Times reporter covering credit union operations, fraud, M&As, leagues, business continuity, and breaking news.
