Seattle City Wire

Six individuals have been indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, six counts of bank fraud, and six counts of aggravated identity theft. The scheme allegedly resulted in the theft of over $345,000 from a credit union in western Washington, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman.

One of the defendants, Aneicia Ford, 31, is accused of using her brief employment with the credit union to steal account information from customers. This information was then used by conspirators to take over accounts and steal funds. The credit union has reimbursed all affected customers.

Court records indicate that between May and October 2022, Ford worked from her Tacoma home as a contact center employee assisting customers with account issues. In this role, she had access to personal identifying information about credit union customers. According to the indictment, Ford passed this information to Dangelo Roberts, 21, who allegedly used it to access and steal from customer accounts. Roberts is also accused of advertising on social media that he could create false identification materials and sought co-schemers for accessing victims' accounts.

Other individuals charged in the scheme include:

- Shanna Carter-Zanders, 42, of Auburn

- Kohrey Lee Bridges, 22, of Tumwater

- Anthony McQueen, 36, of Seattle

- Meghan Frazier, 21, of University Place

Ford faces charges on every count in the indictment. All defendants are charged with conspiracy; different defendants face individual counts of bank fraud and/or aggravated identity theft.

The stolen account information was allegedly used by conspirators to obtain false IDs and debit cards for withdrawals at credit union branches. They reportedly increased ATM withdrawal limits to secure up to $25,000 in cash and spent victims’ funds through cashier’s checks or postal money orders made payable to other conspirators or their associates. They also transferred money between accounts and checked balances illegally.

In total, approximately $345,014 was stolen from credit union accounts.

Conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud each carry penalties of up to 30 years in prison. Aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison following any other sentence imposed.

The indictment's charges are allegations; all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.

The case was investigated by the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General (SSA-OIG) and the FBI. Special Assistant United States Attorney Jessica M. Ly is prosecuting the case.