Man pleads guilty to credit union fraud

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) - A Norfolk man pleaded guilty Monday in Norfolk federal court to conspiring to defraud the Navy Federal Credit Union (NFCU) and to committing credit union fraud.

Darnell M. Barnwell, 25, faces a maximum penalty of 60 years in prison and a $2 million fine when he is sentenced on June 6.

According to court documents, Barnwell conspired with Christopher Moore, who previously pled guilty and is also awaiting sentencing, to steal money from NFCU by fraudulent means.

As part of the conspiracy, officials say Moore obtained identity and account information about persons with accounts at NFCU during 2009 and 2010. Moore and other conspirators then impersonated the identity theft victims and applied by telephone and online for loans in the victims’ names. The conspirators falsely represented to NFCU that the identity theft victims would be using the loan proceeds to buy a used car or motorcycle. After NFCU approved the loans and sent out checks made out to the alleged seller of the vehicle and the identity theft victim, Moore and others intercepted the checks and forged the identity theft victims’ signatures to the checks.

According to authorities, Barnwell recruited third parties to help cash the checks. Barnwell and Moore then met and drove these recruits to NFCU to oversee the negotiation of the checks. After receiving the fraudulent loan proceeds, Barnwell and Moore gave a small sum of cash to the check cashing recruits and kept most of the proceeds for themselves and other conspirators.

Court documents indicate that from early 2009 through June 2010, the conspirators attempted to cash NFCU loan checks worth approximately $460,000.

This case was investigated by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the United States Secret Service, and the Norfolk and Newport News Police Departments.