An Arkansas woman has been sentenced in a federal court for defrauding elderly customers at a New Hampshire credit union, as announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Jay McCormack and U.S. Attorney Jonathan D. Ross.
Tyra Brown, 27, from Benton, Arkansas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian S. Miller of the Eastern District of Arkansas to 36 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. On January 23, 2025, Brown pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in the Eastern District of Arkansas.
Acting U.S. Attorney McCormack stated, "The defendant deliberately abused her position of trust and chose to target elderly account holders, knowing some of whom were unfamiliar with electronic banking. The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners are vigilantly working to protect Granite Staters from fraudsters like the defendant."
James Crowley, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division, remarked, "Tyra Brown had no compunction about swindling elderly victims out of their hard-earned money. What she did isn’t just cowardly, it’s cruel. The FBI will never stop working to shut down elder fraud schemes like this one."
Brown, who worked as a customer service representative at the credit union, accessed customers’ personal information, intended solely for business purposes. She misused this access to steal $301,674.89 from at least ten elderly victims. Brown attempted to steal a total of $428,526.85 using wires, electronic debits, and Zelle to transfer funds.
The investigation was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in New Hampshire. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander S. Chen of the District of New Hampshire and Katie Hinojosa of the Eastern District of Arkansas handled the prosecution.
