U.S. Department of Justice United States Attorney Eastern District of Virginia

Paul J. McNulty, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, announced that Breaumond W. Rhodes, age 35, of Lawrenceville, Virginia, was indicted by a federal grand jury today on five counts of bank fraud, three counts of exceeding authorized access to a computer, and one count of protected computer fraud. Rhodes faces a maximum possible sentence of thirty (30) years imprisonment on each of the bank fraud counts and five (5) years imprisonment on each of the four computer counts.

According to the Indictment, Rhodes was employed by Capital One as a Fraud Detection Representative “FDR” since November 2004. As an FDR, Rhodes was responsible for investigating allegations of fraud or suspicious activity on Capital One accounts, verifying the fraud, and restricting the account to protect the account holders from additional fraudulent charges. In order to perform these responsibilities, Rhodes had access to Capital One’s secure computer system - a system which also allowed him to change account information on the card holder’s accounts. Although Rhodes was only authorized to change account information with the consent of the card holder, the Indictment alleges that on numerous occasions from April 2005 through September 2005, Rhodes used his computer and those of co-workers to change the address and add new users to the customer accounts without the authorization of the account holders, all of which generated fraudulent credit charges on at least 14 accounts. In some instances, Rhodes altered the accounts to reflect a new address and user that corresponded with a family member or friend of his. In all, he created actual losses in excess of $82,000 through his scheme.

Also announcing the indictment is Donald W. Thompson, Special Agent-In-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Richmond Resident Office.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brian L. Whisler.

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