FBI investigators are searching for suspects who stole ATM vaults from the $327 million United Financial Credit Union in Saginaw, Mich., using crowbars, a large gold chain and a heavy-duty pickup truck, making off with nearly $90,000, according to a federal court affidavit filed Monday.
According to investigators, at 3 a.m. on May 12, 2024, a tan Ford F-250 approached the credit union’s ATM on Weiss Street. Two masked and gloved Black men used crowbars to pry open the machine while a third suspect remained behind the wheel. One of the two suspects appeared to be connected to a cell phone via headphones.
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Court documents stated that after the driver reversed the truck closer to the ATM, the two suspects secured the machine to a gold chain attached to the vehicle. The driver then accelerated, tearing open the ATM and exposing internal vaults. A second pull dislodged the machine from its foundation, according to federal investigators.
The suspects retrieved the vault and fled on foot, walking several blocks before entering a waiting white vehicle.
Two days later on May 14, a witness discovered the discarded vaults near an underpass along Interstate 675.
Although the truck had been reported stolen, investigators secured warrants for mobile device data near the ATM at the time of the theft and along the escape route. That analysis, including cell tower and GPS data, led agents to phone numbers linked to two suspects: Johnathan Walker and Samuel Fobbs.
On the day of the theft, Walker sent Fobbs a video of himself and two unidentified men inside a Red Roof Inn room in Saginaw, according to police. The footage showed thousands of dollars spread across a bed. Investigators also recovered photos from Fobbs’s cellphone showing him holding large amounts of cash.
Police are searching for Walker and Fobbs.
Peter Strozniak can be reached at [email protected].
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Peter Strozniak
Credit Union Times reporter covering credit union operations, fraud, M&As, leagues, business continuity, and breaking news.
