The mystery of the missing cash began when PrimeWay asked Brinks to reschedule the old ATM's cash removal from Oct. 11 to Oct. 10. Though a Brinks supervisor confirmed that date, its employee didn't show up to take out the cash until the morning of Oct. 14.

According to affidavits of two construction employees, Chuck Bice and Michael Lewis, who were working on the branch renovation, the Brinks employee, not identified in court documents, allegedly told the construction workers to step away from the ATM and then instructed them to wait for him to complete his work. Bice knew the cash was being removed because it was scheduled on the construction project work plan.

When the Brinks employee completed his work at the ATM, he left the front door unlocked and open, which signaled to the construction crew that they could remove the old cash machine, according to the construction project work plan.

Several weeks later, the same Brinks employee returned to the branch to fill (with cash) the new ITM.  Soon after that, though no specific date was provided in court documents, PrimeWay discovered that $92,000 was missing.

But it wasn't until April 1, 2020, that the credit union notified Brinks that PrimeWay had no record of the cash being returned to the vault, according to court documents.

The credit union followed up on April 8 via email to a Brinks regional account executive about whether any progress had been made regarding the missing $92,000, but the employee responded by simply forwarding PrimeWay's email to someone at Brinks Operations. On April 15, the credit union followed up again with Brinks and it wasn't until May 6 when the company informed PrimeWay that "Brinks Houston does not show any record of accessing this lock, as a resolution to your inquiry," according to the lawsuit.

On Aug. 4, PrimeWay's lawyer wrote a letter to Brinks demanding that the company reimburse the credit union's $92,000.

Brinks filed an answer to PrimeWay's lawsuit that denied its allegations and listed 15 lines of legal defenses, including that the credit union failed to state a claim on which relief can be granted, that PrimeWay's claims are barred in whole or in part by the doctrine of unclean hands, and that PrimeWay's claims are barred in whole or in part because any loss or damage allegedly suffered by the credit union was caused, in whole or in part, by its own conduct, acts and/or omissions.

Brinks did not return CU Times' request for additional comment.

In a prepared statement released to the CU Times on Wednesday, PrimeWay said it takes its responsibility as financial stewards of its members' money very seriously.

"To that end, we must pursue what is right for our members. Any loss the credit union incurs is less value we can provide to our members," the credit union stated. "Thus, we are vigilant both internally and with our third-party providers. Since this is an active case, our counsel has advised against providing details at this time."

PrimeWay originally filed its 45-page lawsuit in Harris County court in December 2020, but Brinks moved it to federal court in Houston where legal proceedings are pending for July and September.