Houston woman admits to conspiracy to load debit cards with fraudulent funds

HOUSTON - A 23-year-old Houston woman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

What we know:

The U.S. Attorney's Office said Jaysha Victorian worked for a bank contractor from late 2020 to early 2021. 

Officials said she used her access to the systems of a national banking institution to load prepaid debit cards with fraudulent funds. These included prepaid cards that were used to provide unemployment benefits, including for the state of California. 

The cards were later distributed to other recipients, who withdrew the funds from ATMs and other locations. 

In total, officials said Victorian credited at least 187 card with nearly $8.6 million in fraudulent funds.

Officials stated that over $7.6 million of those funds were withdrawn or spent before the bank could freeze the cards. 

Victorian admitted to officials that she used some of the funds to conduct ATM transactions on her own, including a $1,000 withdrawal at a branch in Houston. 

She also received approximately $300,000 in cash proceeds from her role in the scheme, officials said. 

Sentencing for Victorian will take place on July 7. She faces up to five years in prison and a possible $250,000 fine. 

She has been permitted to remain on bond pending sentencing.

What we don't know:

Officials did not say if anyone else was involved in the conspiracy or if the funds were later recovered by the bank.