Carmel man sentenced to federal prison for role in scheme stealing over $2 million from Credit Union accounts

CARMEL, Ind. — A Carmel man has been sentenced to over two years in federal prison after pleading guilty to participating in a scheme that stole $2 million out of the accounts of Credit Union members.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana announced Wednesday that Jose Prado-Valero, 35, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Walton Pratt to 33 months in federal prison and two years of supervised release after pleading guilty to financial institution fraud. Prado-Valero was also charged to pay $2,132,517 in restitution fees as part of his sentencing.

According to court documents, Prado-Valero worked at Credit Union as an automated clearing house coordinator between 2016 and 2019. The responsibilities of the role included overseeing transactions in and out of accounts belonging to Credit Union members. The role saw him have access to Social Security numbers and other important information, including dates of birth, home addresses and telephone numbers.

Investigators determined that Prado-Valero was approached sometime before Feb. 14, 2019, by individuals looking to launch a plan to defraud the institution and steal money from existing member accounts.

Court documents indicate Prado-Valero agreed to join the scheme and “used his position of trust at the credit union to access members’ account information and steal their money.”

Prado-Valero and accomplices allegedly completed 34 different transfers from Credit Union members’ accounts totaling $2,078,725 between Feb. 14, 2019, and Aug. 16, 2019, court documents said.

During this time, Prado-Valero was allegedly compensated over $100,000.

“Account holders and financial institutions depend on people in positions of trust to keep their information and money safe,” said Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “This corrupt employee facilitated the theft of millions of customer dollars to satisfy his own greed. The serious federal prison sentence imposed demonstrates that the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office are watching, and those who abuse positions of trust to line their pockets at the expense of others will be held accountable.”

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 59.