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When a Connecticut man medically retired from the Navy in 2017, he asked his friend for help setting up his MyPay account to receive a lump sum settlement. Instead of helping his friend, Christopher Teixeira, then 35, helped himself.
Teixeira changed the bank information to his account and received the victim's money a few days later. Then, Teixeira covered his tracks by reentering the victim's MyPay account and changing the information to his shipmate's account.
Also, Teixeira used the victim's information to take out a nearly $26,000 personal loan from the Navy Federal Credit Union in his friend's name. Finally, adding insult to injury, Teixeira "loaned" the victim $6,500 to tide him over until he resolved his money situation.
Luckily for the retired service member, when he called the Retired and Annuitant Pay helpline at the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, the customer service representative raised the issue with internal authorities.
Investigators of the DFAS Criminal Investigation Branch and the Defense Criminal Investigations Cyber Field Office were able to follow the cyber tracks left behind and recover the remaining funds.
In 2019, Teixeira was convicted of wire fraud and related offenses and ordered to report to prison early last year. He was also ordered to pay fines and compensate his victim as part of his six-month prison term and two-year, supervised.
The highly-publicized instance of fraud was one example of many where money corrupted people's thinking and involved criminal actions.
Would you know how to spot red flags in a professional setting? What about in your personal life?
The DFAS Fraud Risk Management Training module is available through the Risk Management Internal Control Office portal page and available through the DFAS Training Dashboard.
The course provides foundational knowledge on topics such as concerning fraud, managing fraud risk, the importance of internal controls to mitigate fraud risk, and the use of data analytics to monitor behavioral trends and inappropriate transactions and behavior.
To take the training, go to the Training Dashboard and in the Course Catalog search, type in "DFAS Fraud Risk Management Training."
The learning objective of the 14-minute-long course is to communicate the importance of fraud awareness and mitigation.
"We hope you take advantage of this opportunity to learn more about Fraud Risk Management at DFAS," said David Bradley of the DFAS Risk Management and Internal Control Office. "If you have any questions, please reach out to us through email."
Employees at DFAS who work with people's money and records may be trained in suspicious activities, and they should report those to their supervisors.
An anonymous Department of Defense fraud, waste, and abuse hotline is available: 1-800-424-9098 (toll-free) or 1-703-604-8799 (commercial).
Additionally, DFAS has a separate hotline from the DoD hotline:
•DFAS Hotline Webpage URLDFAS Hotline Email Address
A note is included to remind users, "Emails are not automatically anonymous. Include one of the following designators regarding your preference on disclosure of your name and contact information at the beginning of your email: "CONSENT TO DISCLOSURE" or "NON-CONSENT TO DISCLOSURE."
•DFAS Hotline office fax: 216-367-0343
•DFAS Hotline office phone: Toll Free: 1-800-330-8720; Commercial: 216-522-5806; or DSN 580-5806
For more information, contact the Risk Management Internal Control team with questions and requests to speak at your group gathering.
| Date Taken: | 07.02.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 12.28.2021 15:35 |
| Story ID: | 411986 |
| Location: | INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, US |
| Web Views: | 145 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Fraud can happen to anyone, anywhere, by Christopher Allbright, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
