Bank Clerk in New Orleans Steals Closing Funds

Jodie Hoang, 34, of Houston, Texas an accounting clerk for Standard Mortgage Corporation which is located in New Orleans, Louisiana has been charged with one count bill of information with computer fraud. Jim Letten, United States Attorney for Eastern District of Louisiana announced Thursday August 13th.

The bill of information states that Hoang used her position as accounting clerk to change deposit computer codes for payments made by Standard Mortgage Corporations customers at the time of their mortgage closings. Her duties as accounting clerk were to separate interest and escrow payments made at closings for Standard Mortgage Corporation. She would change the interest payment codes to collection cleared in the company’s computer system. Hoang then created checks payable to herself and the credit card companies of her charge cards with the funds that were diverted. The bill of information alleges that Hoang was solely responsible for reconciling Standard Mortgage Corporations general operations account and that she used the computer system and the accounting software used in the production and maintenance of the mortgage loans to knowingly defraud the company.

Hoang in addition separated and concealed all cancelled checks which were payable to her and her credit card liabilities in an attempt to further conceal her activities. She also acquired the CEOs’ signature stamp which allowed her to conceal the checks that she made out to herself. Hoang allegedly committed her crime between September 2001 and August of 2004.

Hoang is facing a maximum prison sentence of five years, two hundred fifty thousands in fines, a hundred dollar special assessment and placement on supervised release after incarceration of up to three years and can be ordered to pay restitution to Standard Mortgage Corporation if she is convicted.

Letten stressed that a bill of information is merely a charge and that the question of guilt must be proven beyond reasonable doubt in the court.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation handled the investigation into Hoang’s activities and Assistant U.S. Attorney Carter K. D. Guice Jr. of the Financial and Computer Crime Unit will be handling the prosecution.