Precious Palmer
MILWAUKEE - A former Milwaukee HSA Bank employee has been sentenced to probation after she pleaded guilty on Thursday to two felonies tied to a fraud scheme.
Precious Palmer, 29, was one of two people charged with multiple felonies last year. Prosecutors said the scheme involved using customers' personal information to steal thousands of dollars.
Palmer's co-defendant, 38-year-old Cecil Lacy, is scheduled for a plea and sentencing hearing on Feb. 26.
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Case details
According to a criminal complaint, Palmer gave out customers' personal information as part of the scheme to steal money from their accounts. Investigators said everything from ZIP codes, social security numbers and home addresses would then be handed to a second person – Lacy. He would then call the bank and provide that information while pretending to be a certain customer. He was then able to access the accounts.
For about a year, prosecutors said the two attempted to steal thousands of dollars from customers who use HSA Bank. The district attorney's office said Lacy got away with stealing $13,000, but there were multiple unsuccessful attempts to take more.
Palmer and Lacy are charged with a total of 26 counts pertaining to identity theft and fraud. Palmer initially denied the allegations, prosecutors said, but eventually gave up Lacy's name – saying "it was all his idea" and "I was kind of wrong for it."
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Court records show Palmer was not ordered to pay restitution as part of her sentence.
Statement from HSA Bank:
"We investigated and self-identified the issue to law enforcement when it occurred in 2020. No loss was incurred by any client or HSA Bank."