Former Wells Fargo Employee Accused Of Stealing Thousands From Deceased Woman’s Account: How He Was Finally Caught

An employee of Wells Fargo has been caught stealing money from a deceased woman’s bank account to the sum of tens of thousands. Only after her death was the crime discovered.

How Much: The ex-Wells Fargo employee managed to syphon around  $26,000 from an elderly Gresham woman’s account. Even before her passing, they were already using her money for their own purpose. When she passed, they continued to do it, hoping that nobody would continue to notice.

But, on the woman’s passing, her family started to go through her financial documents. It didn’t take them long to flag up an unusual name constantly taking money from the woman’s account.

• “My dad was in charge of all of her estate,” her niece said. “After she passed away, my dad was able to get all of her banking information sent to him. He hands me the statements, and I see this name, Brittany McLaughlin, attached to it. I’m like, what is this name? He’s like, I have no idea who that is.”

The elderly lady was 90 years old when she passed. But the account had been used by the Wells Fargo employee long before she died. They preyed on an old person who probably didn’t know how to check her online documents.

Small Payback

Bank reaches out: The family instantly got in contact with Wells Fargo and asked what on earth was going on. Brittany Monique McLaughlin, 31, was quickly identified and arrested. She has been charged with 20 counts, including aggravated theft, aggravated identity theft, first-degree theft, and identity theft.

The various transactions from the elderly woman’s account came in many different forms. There were multiple instances of car loans, insurance, utilities, PayPal transfers, and cash withdrawals. She had somehow managed to gain access to her account during her time in Wells Fargo and had stolen her money.

How: Wells Fargo has, so far, reimbursed around $13,000 to the family, but this only covers a small amount of the lost funds. According to the financial conglomerate, her details were compromised while asking for help with online banking. The employee saw an opportunity and took it.

• “Finding this out after she had passed away was horrible,” her family said. “My aunt was an amazing person. She gave to a ton of different charities. To find out that someone had taken this money from someone who was older, just took advantage of them, it’s horrific.”