LOS ANGELES
A woman who worked at a credit union in Hawthorne and her boyfriend have been charged with a scheme to open more than 30 credit accounts, according to officials.
The boyfriend was able to get about $1.1 million via online before the scheme was discovered.
The indictment returned Wednesday afternoon by a federal grand jury charges Indira Mohabir, 41, of La Habra, and Phillip Cook, 50, who resides in Ohio and Georgia.
Mohabir was initially charged in the case last year, and Cook was arrested in Ohio on July 28 after federal prosecutors filed a criminal complaint in this case.
Mohabir, who is free on bond, is currently scheduled to go on trial on October 31. Cook, who has been ordered held without bond, is being transported to Los Angeles by the United States Marshals Service.
The 15-count indictment charges the two defendants with conspiracy to commit financial institution fraud, eight counts of unauthorized issuance of credit union obligations and six counts of financial institution fraud.
Mohabir, who worked as a business loan processor at Western Federal Credit Union, entered into an online relationship with Cook in November 2014. and agreed soon after to open lines of credit without the necessary oversight and approval from the credit union, according to the indictment.
The scheme lasted about three months, from late 2014 to early 2015, but the majority of the credit lines allegedly were established – or were doubled – over just a few days in January 2015.
She agreed soon after to open lines of credit without the necessary oversight and approval from the credit union, according to the indictment.
The scheme lasted about three months, from late 2014 to early 2015, but the majority of the credit lines allegedly were established – or were doubled – over just a few days in January 2015.
The scheme lasted about three months, from late 2014 to early 2015, but the majority of the credit lines allegedly were established – or were doubled – over just a few days in January 2015.
In exchange for opening the lines of credit and concealing them from the credit union, Cook promised to take Mohabir on trips, and sent her a $50,000 check and flowers, according to court documents.
The defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
If convicted of charges in the indictment, Mohabir and Cook faces up to five years in federal prison on the conspiracy count and up to 30 years for each of the substantive fraud charges, according to authorities.