Woman in Lumberton pleads guilty to bank fraud

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCT) -- On Wednesday, May 7, 2025, a woman in Lumberton, N.C. pleaded guilty to bank fraud and misuse of social security numbers.

Jillian Scott, 31, faces a maximum penalty of 35 years in prison.

Court documents say that Scott was employed as a customer call representative at State Employees Credit Union (SECU) and worked remotely from her home on a laptop issued by SECU. Through this position, Scott had access to personal and account information of SECU members. Between November 2018, and June 2021, she used her position to access the bank accounts of more than 20 customers who had called the member service line regarding their accounts. The customers were unaware that Scott was accessing their accounts.

Scott would use the personal information she got from customer's accounts to create fake PayPal and CashApp accounts, and Bill Pay checks in their names. She would then use these accounts to transfer the customer's money to her own bank accounts. Scott made nearly 700 fraudulent CashApp transactions, 120 fraudulent PayPal transactions, and 47 fraudulent Bill Pay transactions, for a total loss of nearly $80,000.

Daniel P. Bubar, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle accepted the plea. The United States Postal Inspection Service is investigating the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Toby Lathan is prosecuting the case.