Fraud Friday – Financial Services Employee Defrauds Credit Union for $45 Per Month

September 11, 2020 

By Caity Roach
Contributing Editor, Fraud Friday

Fraud Friday – Financial Services Provider Defrauds Credit Union for $45 Per Month

Former financial services provider, Rene Roy, will serve one day in federal prison and two years on probation for providing inaccurate and falsified documents to Belco Community Credit Union in order to get a lower interest rate on an auto loan. Federal investigators say the fraud would have only saved Roy $2,700 in interest payments over the life of the loan or about $45 a month.

At his sentencing, Roy’s defense attorney argued that his client was going through a “difficult time in his personal life” when he committed the fraud. Roy had filed for bankruptcy at the time and had to sell his home in an attempt to pay his creditors. Out of distress, Roy utilized the knowledge he had gained within his financial services career to create convincing documents in support of an auto loan application.  As a result of the fraud, Belco Community Credit Union suffered a loss. 

“These charges have permanently destroyed his outstanding financial services career. He has already spent his entire retirement savings so he and his family may try and stay afloat,” says Roy’s attorney. “In truth, these charges stem from a complete lack of judgment and his mental state at the time.”

The maximum penalty under federal law for Roy’s offense is 30 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. However, considering Roy’s guilty plea and the circumstances surrounding the offense, the district Judge sentenced Roy to just one day in prison followed by two years on probation. The department of Justice has not yet revealed whether Roy will have to pay a fine.

Sources:
Patriot News
Department of Justice