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A Ukiah man faces 240 days in Contra Costa County Jail after taking a plea deal last week for stealing nearly $20,000 from a Pleasant Hill resident’s bank account in 2022.Â
Andrew William McCormick, 23, pleaded guilty on Oct. 3 to felony identity theft, money laundering and grand theft after hatching a scheme with a co-conspirator in Florida targeting an account holder at a Chase Bank branch in Pleasant Hill, according to the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office.
McCormick opened a legitimate account in his name on July 22, 2022, at a Chase Bank branch in Ukiah. He then scheduled an in-person appointment at a Chase Bank branch in Plantation, Fla. for Aug. 26, 2022.
Prosecutors said he flew to Florida on Aug. 25, 2022 and met with a co-conspirator who impersonated the Pleasant Hill victim and used the victim’s stolen identifying information. While in Florida, the two went to the scheduled bank meeting and opened a joint account and linked it to the victim’s checking account.
McCormick later made phone transfers totaling $19,956 from the victim’s account to the new one and then made an electronic transfer of $12,300 to his account in Ukiah, according to the DA’s office.
McCormick made electronic transfers and cash withdrawals from five other branches until he drained the victim’s account. He left Florida later that day.
Pleasant Hill Police Officer Andrew Mundy investigated for several months piecing together information obtained through multiple search warrants to build a case against McCormick.
“When it comes to financial crimes, the challenges can be steep. But Officer Mundy’s impressive investigation and (deputy DA) Dana Filkowski’s thorough preparation for prosecution led to a just outcome for the victim of this crime,” DA Diana Becton said in a statement.
Along with 240 days in jail, McCormick will repay the victim the amount he stole and serve two years on probation, the DA’s office said.
The DA’s office said the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency offers four easy tips to stay safe online: Use strong passwords (long, random, and unique with uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols); Turn on multi-factor authentication (MFA), especially for financial accounts; Recognize and report phishing (suspicious messages asking for personal info); Keep software updated to get the latest security patches. Learn more at cisa.gov.
— Story by Tony Hicks, Bay City News Service
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