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A Raleigh woman pleaded guilty on December 7, 2022 for her role in a scheme to steal customer account information, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice, Eastern District of North Carolina. Davia Delores Lockley, 26, faces up to 15 years in prison when sentenced in March 2023.

“Financial institutions and their customers count on the integrity of bank employees,” said U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina Michael Easley. “This defendant used her position of trust to steal customers’ personal financial information as part of a scheme to defraud people of their hard-earned money.”

According to court documents and information presented in court, Lockley participated in a scheme to defraud banks and bank customers while employed as a teller at the Raleigh branch location of an area bank.

“As part of the scheme, bank employees were recruited by conspirators to identify customer accounts that contained significant funds and lacked a customer photo on file,” stated the release. “They then accessed the customers’ information on the bank’s internal systems, including account numbers and personal identifiers, and sent that information to other conspirators using cell phones or by handwritten notes.

“Runners were recruited to enter various banks and credit unions and withdraw funds from victim accounts. To facilitate the fraudulent withdrawals, conspirators obtained counterfeit drivers licenses using the victims’ personal identifiers and the runners’ photographs,” the release continued. “The proceeds of the fraud were split amongst conspirators. Between January 2021 and June 2021, Lockley compromised the accounts of at least six bank customers. Lockley pleaded guilty to one count of Access Device Fraud.”

Easley made the announcement after Chief United States District Judge Richard E. Myers II accepted the plea. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Raleigh Police Department are investigating the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Toby Lathan is prosecuting the case.

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