Two men have been accused of stealing West Virginians’ identities and then withdrawing money from their credit union accounts.
Benjamin Britford, 33, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Brandon Watkins, 29, of Douglasville, Georgia, have been accused of making illicit withdrawals from accounts at Bayer Heritage FCU in New Martinsville, West Virginia.
According to police, Britford and Watkins obtained the personal identifying information and account numbers of multiple credit union members in July and August 2023 and then withdrew cash from those accounts, according to WTOV.
More than $10,000 has been withdrawn.
During the same time period, the defendants took more than $10,000 in cash from accounts in West Virginia and additional funds from accounts of Bayer members in South Carolina, according to the report.
The report does not specify how the identities and financial data were obtained.
Britford and Watkins have been charged with bank fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and bank larceny, respectively. Watkins is also charged with aggravated identity theft, according to WTOV.