Consultant Sent To Prison After Stealing $2M

A computer consultant who used his job to get access to passwords and steal almost $2 million from four credit unions was sentenced last week to five years in federal prison.

Prosecutors said  Zeldon Morris of Provo, Utah, obtained the passwords and user IDs after being hired as a third-party contractor to upgrade the computer systems at the four credit unions.

Morris used the user IDs and passwords to initiate fraudulent electronic transfers into bank accounts he owned, according to a report on the SC Magazine Web site. The fraudulent transfers occurred in 2008. Morris then used the money to fund remodeling and construction work on his Provo home, pay off two vehicles and go on several trips overseas, according to the charges against him.

In addition to the prison sentence, Morris was order to pay $1.8 million in restitution to the credit unions—Family First Federal Credit Union, Alpine Credit Union, Desert First Credit Union and First Credit Union.

Morris has been ordered to begin his prison sentence June 18.

Computer security experts say the case underlines how data breaches and theft often happen as the result of “insiders” with specialized access to systems—as opposed to thieves hacking the systems from the outside.