BOSTON (AP) — A former employee of a Massachusetts bank pleaded guilty on Friday to her role in two separate fraud schemes, federal prosecutors said.
Rushell Harris, 32, of Nantucket, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Boston to two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office.
Harris worked at Nantucket Bank between June 2014 and November 2018. While working there, she exploited her position to obtain the personal information of a customer and secretly took photographs of the victim’s account information, prosecutors said.
She then shared that information with others who attempted to transfer funds out of the customer’s account, prosecutors said.
Harris also played a role in a fake lottery scheme that targeted at least 13 victims, prosecutors said. In that conspiracy, victims were contacted by phone and told they had won large prizes, but in order to receive the funds they needed to pre-pay taxes on their winnings.
After victims made an initial payment, they were told more payments were needed for other expenses including insurance, transportation or international customs fees.
Harris and her alleged accomplices transferred proceeds of the scheme to associates in Jamaica and the U.S.
She faces sentencing Jan. 27.
(Copyright (c) 2024 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)