A former WEPCO loan officer faces embezzlement charges. According to Preston County Magistrate Court records 37 year old Nicole Moore of Elk Garden allegedly stole $157,950 from 60 different WEPCO member accounts from Nov. 2017 through Sept. 2020 while working at the Kingwood branch. Moore allegedly processed cash advances on 81 different loans and completed 198 transactions on member accounts without them knowing. Moore admitted to having changed members statements from paper statements to electronic and then she would turn off notifications on the electronic statements for those accounts so the members would not notice a change in their principal balance. In Sept a member notified WEPCO of discrepancies on a loan balance which prompted an investigation. Moore admitted to Kingwood Police officials that she had made the transactions but she was unaware of exactly how many loans she had manipulated. She claimed she was being black mailed by her ex-boyfriend and she was depositing the money in his account.
According to a statement from WEPCO President Becky McKenzie, “There is an active, ongoing investigation in progress at this time. Based on a review of past activity, we have identified and contacted, or attempted to contact, all members impacted. The members that have been reached have met with credit union personnel, and their accounts have been resolved. Going forward, we do have measures in place to detect and stop these transactions.”
Moore has been charged with felony embezzlement.