Ardonus “Donna” Perkins, 40, Atlanta, Georgia, the former Assistant Vice President of Risk Management of the Credit Union of Georgia, has pleaded guilty to a charge of mail fraud for causing the credit union to disburse over $300,000 in fraudulent loans.
According to the charges and other information presented in court: From January 2008 through August 2010, Perkins, used the names of unknowing family members and friends to open signature loans and true lines of credit at the credit union, which are open-ended personal lines of credit.
Perkins took the funds obtained from these fraudulent loans for her own personal use. She also secretly refinanced automobile loans without the auto owner’s knowledge, consent, or authorization, and took those proceeds. Additionally, Perkins established fraudulent VISA accounts in the names of family members and friends and received cash advances on those accounts without their knowledge.
Perkins’ fraud scheme went undetected at the Credit Union of Georgia until she was fired in 2010 for policy violations. She continually increased the loan limits and available credit limits on the fraudulent loans to obtain more funds. In an effort to conceal and continue her scheme, Perkins used some of the money she fraudulently received to make payments on some of the loans, lines of credit, and credit card accounts that she had fraudulently established in the names of others.
To further conceal her scheme, Perkins directed the monthly statements of the fraudulently established accounts to her personal post office box. As a result of Perkins’ scheme, the Credit Union of Georgia lost more than $300,000.
Sentencing for Perkins is scheduled for July 30, 2015, at 10:00 a.m. before United States District Judge Mark H. Cohen.
Acting U.S. Attorney Horn announced the guilty plea.
This case is being investigated by the United States Secret Service.
Assistant United States Attorneys Loranzo M. Fleming and Jeff A. Brown are prosecuting the case.
“This now former credit union executive used her institutional knowledge of the financial system to concoct a multi-faceted fraud scheme to steal money from the credit union,” said Acting U.S. Attorney John Horn. “The Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners will vigorously investigate and prosecute those engaged in fraud that threatens the integrity of the banking system.”
“The United States Secret Service will continue to take an aggressive approach to arrest individuals who violate the trust of businesses to further their personal financial gain,” said Reginald G. Moore, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Atlanta Field Office.
