Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Crime News (b)
After the audit, the credit union reached out to the FBI. Through bank records, agents quickly pieced together what Shaw had done.
Luckily for the credit union members, insurance reimbursed them, so they didn’t lose their own money. But the loss to the small Beaver, Pennsylvania, credit union, founded in 1964, was so large, it had to permanently close.
“This credit union no longer exists because of her actions,” said Special Agent Samantha Bell, who investigated the case out of the FBI’s Pittsburgh Field Office.
Through financial records, investigators learned Shaw used the credit cards to go on trips, eat out at restaurants, buy clothes, and start a pig farm.
“She bought some land and spent a lot of money into outfitting that land for her use,” said Bell. “She bought ATVs, four-wheelers, four sheds, pigs. At one point, she had a horse and some really big rabbits. A lot of money went into funding that effort.”