NORFOLK, Va. - A Norfolk man pleaded guilty Monday to aggravated identity theft and bank fraud in connection with a fraud scheme targeting Navy Federal Credit Union.
According to court documents, 28-year-old Taimak Peters helped devise a scheme to defraud the credit union out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
From about April through July 2018, Peters, along with other co-conspirators, stole several identities, including names, social security numbers, and dates of birth.
They then used this information to create accounts at NFCU and apply for car loans in the victims’ names from information secured from sites such as Autotrader, according to court docs.
The court records indicate that once these loans were approved, a conspirator would go to a Navy Federal Branch, retrieve the loan check, then take it to a different branch to cash. The conspirators then would split the proceeds.
Peters admitted in court to supplying stolen identities in this fashion on at least three such transactions. His actions caused Navy Federal Credit Union to lose over $57,000, the overall conspiracy caused a loss exceeding $300,000.
Officials say Peters is the fourth person to plead guilty in this scheme.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on January 20 and faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 2 years in prison and a maximum penalty of 32 years in prison.
His co-conspirators, 29-year-old Raven Dixon, 38-year-old Ryan Eugene Gregory, and 33-year-old Thomas Jules Rogers, all previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced for their roles in the conspiracy.
