A Newport News man wants answers after $9,800 disappeared from a special needs trust account he manages for his brother at Navy Federal Credit Union.
Keith Wilmer said he has held the trust account at Navy Federal for the past 10 years before changing banking institutions after this incident.
He noticed in June that $9,800 had been withdrawn in cash — a transaction he says he did not make.
"Then all of a sudden, I noticed in June that $9,800 was withdrawn by cash and it wasn't me. I'm the sole trustee, no debit card, no credit card, no checking tied to. Nothing, just gone, no explanation," Wilmer said.
Wilmer says he spent weeks trying to get answers from Navy Federal about how the money could have been taken out of the account.
"There was no explanation about how this occurred, whether it was an internal type of error, whether someone impersonated me, whether I have a pending ID issue," Wilmer said.
WTKR reached out to Navy Federal about this issue along with our ongoing investigation into people being forced to payback personal loans they did not take out after being victims of scams.
Navy Federal issued the following statement:
"Due to privacy considerations and pending litigation, we are unable to provide information regarding these matters. Please be assured that Navy Federal takes fraud and scam-related activity very seriously and complies with all applicable laws and regulatory requirements when investigating and resolving such claims. Each claim is evaluated based on its unique facts and circumstances. Navy Federal also cooperates with law enforcement, as appropriate."
WTKR has been investigating what federal prosecutors call the parking lot scam for years.
It is a scheme that has plagued the community and impacted hundreds of victims.
Criminals target Navy Federal customers — pretending to have an emergency or to need help — and asking to use the victim's phone, then transfer money or take out personal loans. In some cases, Navy Federal has told victims they must pay back those loans with 18% interest.
In some cases, thieves have targeted military members and young people.
Attorney Gary Byler is working to help victims recover their money after he saw our investigation.
He said he wanted to get involved because it is wrong what is happening to these victims.
"What gets me so upset about this is that they pick such weak victims. They pick folks, a lot of them have traveled here for the military, they don’t have family here and the amounts in controversy are small enough… that no law firm really would take them on, unless you give them a retainer of $1,500 or $2,500. These kids have been cheated. They don't have the extra money to be putting up. What gets me most is upset is the vulnerable nature of the victims," Byler said.
After seeing the investigation, Wilmer contacted Byler in an effort to get answer about how his money was taken out of the account and if his personal information had been compromised.
"Thanks to your investigation Margaret I saw that there were other similar cases, not the same but other similar types of problems and he (Gary Byler) might be able to fast track this for me and he really did," Wilmer said.
Wilmer says soon after Byler got involved the $9,800 was returned to the account, but he still does not know what happened.
Byler says he is beyond frustrated with Navy Federal's lack of response regarding Kilmer's case for a specials needs trust for a disabled person.
"Thousands and thousands of dollars missing and Navy Federal has no response. No response,” Byler said.
WTKR spoke to Virginia State Senator Bill DeSteph who said he is now getting involved to help some of the victims who have been victims in the parking lot scams and now being told they need to pay back personal loans they reported as fraud.
"I'm a member of Navy Federal Credit Union, I'm a retired Navy, and it's the right thing to do, so this is something that we need to get on top of and engage quickly," DeSteph said.
Wilmer says he hopes the situation leads to stronger security for all Navy Federal members.
"I hope for the sake of the other members that the security is strengthened, and this type of activity is not able to continue," Wilmer said.
