The chase broadens in bank theft case

The number of breached accounts at two local Chase Bank branches has climbed to 48.

The Riverdale Press reported on Oct. 4 that since Aug. 30, 25 incidents of suspected identity theft had led to thousands being swiped from accounts at local branches.

And as news of the breach has trickled out and money continued to disappear, more Chase customers have come forward as victims in what appears to be an ongoing security breach at two locations — at 3775 Riverdale Ave. and 13 Knolls Crescent.

“Last week was the last report we had,” said Capt. Kevin Burke, referring to the date the last money was taken from an account. “It’s trickling down so I think they’ve stemmed it.”

Earlier this month, Capt. Burke said that a Chase Bank employee, who worked at the two locations from which money had been taken  was probably the culprit and was being brought in for an interview. 

He said the suspect first worked at the Riverdale Avenue branch and was transferred to the Knolls Crescent branch after her drawer at the Riverdale Avenue branch kept coming up short. She was terminated when the same thing happened at the second location, he said. 

After Chase was alerted to the recent wave of illegal withdrawals, the company conducted an internal audit that showed the former employee had used her access code to get into clients’ accounts without reason. 

Since then, Capt. Burke said he’s gotten information that the suspected ex-employee, a Bronx woman, passed personal information on to a third party. 

“We don’t think she is the brains behind the operation,” he said. 

He said he does not believe she came in for an interview. 

“We’re working with the Bronx District attorney’s office and we’re not going to make an arrest yet,” he said. 

He said the question is this: “Is it an organized ring or just a loose bunch of individuals?”

The Bronx DA would not comment on an ongoing investigation. Chase Bank’s division of Global Security and Investigations could also not be reached for comment.  

Capt. Burke said recent reports have followed the same trend as previous ones. The typical amount disappearing from accounts is $4,000, taken in two withdrawals of $2,000. 

“An individual has an account there and somehow the perp is establishing a linked account to that original account,” said Capt. Burke, and then withdrawing funds.  

While reports show the theft began on Aug. 30, Capt. Burke said he would be open to reconsidering cases in which money was taken from the two branches before that date. 

That will probably be good news for Evelyn Behrend, an accountant from New Jersey who helped manage the bank account of an elderly cousin who lived in Riverdale. 

Ms. Behrend said she noticed substantial withdrawals between January 2011 and June 2011. All told, she said $39,500 had disappeared from Ms. Behrend’s cousin’s account. 

Ms. Behrend took the case to the Bronx District Attorney in August 2011, but that office concluded that there was not enough evidence to pursue the case. 

Another woman, Tamara Landova, said $8,000 went missing from her safe deposit box at the Riverdale Avenue location in 2009. She said, she too, attempted to reach out to authorities but her case was never resolved. 

In March, The Riverdale Press reported that police and victims alleged that at least $20,000 was taken from safe deposit boxes at the Chase Bank branch located at 5656 Riverdale Ave in North Riverdale.

“It’s an unfortunate breach that’s affected a lot of people and shaken their trust in the banking system,” Capt. Burke said of the most recent spate of incidents, adding that he hopes it leads customers to more closely monitor their accounts. 

-- Reporting contributed by Qainat Khan and Amiee Kuvadida