A grand jury yesterday indicted two former bank employees for their role in a conspiracy to steal customer account information, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and United States Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Patrick M. Davis

A six-count indictment filed in the U.S. District Court charges Chimere Shanta Mitchell, 31, and Jamila Afhtan Davis, 31, both of Birmingham, with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

According to the indictment, Mitchell was previously employed by Wells Fargo Bank as a Fraud and Claims Operations Specialist responsible for working with bank customers who suspected fraudulent activity in their accounts. Davis was previously employed by Regions Bank as a teller responsible for processing transactions and providing customer service.

The indictment alleges that between October 2020 and October 2021, Mitchell and Davis used their positions as bank employees to obtain financial account information from accountholders at Wells Fargo and Regions banks. They would then provide that information to another individual who would either use it in connection with account takeover schemes or market it on Telegram, an encrypted mobile messaging application favored by cybercriminals.

The maximum penalty for wire fraud affecting a financial institution is 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The maximum penalty for conspiracy to commit wire fraud is the same.

The U.S. Secret Service Cyber Fraud Task Force investigated the case with assistance from the Vestavia Hills Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward J. Canter is prosecuting the case.

An indictment contains only charges.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. 

Original source can be found here