Ohio service rep charged in theft of $1.1 million using U.S. Bank customer debit cards, feds say

An Akron, Ohio woman who worked as a third-party customer service representative for U.S. Bank is accused of stealing $1.1 million from customers by stealing their banking information, federal prosecutors announced Thursday.

Ashley Miller faces a total of 16 counts: four counts of mail fraud, four counts of wire fraud, four counts of bank fraud and four counts of aggravated identity theft, prosecutors said in a news release. The 36-year-old allegedly carried out the scheme during her time as a customer service employee at Dial America, a third-party call center service, from May 2021 to Oct. 2021, according to prosecutors.

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How woman allegedly stole $1.1 million from 299 U.S. Bank accounts

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio said a federal grand jury's indictment charged:

  • Miller changed the addresses of U.S. Bank debit cards issued for 299 accounts to have them mailed to an Akron, Ohio address she owned.

  • Miller would then use the cards to make ATM withdrawals.

  • The withdrawals totaled $1,118,391.82.

Court records show Miller was arrested in Akron on Wednesday, but was released on a $20,000 bond. The conditions of her release bar her from leaving the county. A plea hearing is set for April 4.

If convicted, Miller faces up to 30 years in prison on the bank fraud charges and 20 years for mail and wire fraud charges, but sentencing can vary on a number of factors, according to U.S. Department of Justice spokesperson Daniel Ball.

U.S. Bank told USA TODAY Thursday that affected bank accounts were made whole.

Inquiries from USA TODAY to Dial America and Miller's listed attorneys were not immediately returned Thursday.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ohio woman charged in $1.1M theft with U.S. Bank customer debit cards