Texas Man Pleads Guilty to Stealing from Bank Accounts

MINNEAPOLIS—Earlier today in federal court, a 46-year-old Houston, Texas, man pleaded guilty to stealing funds from bank accounts at Anchor Bank in Minnesota. Henry Joseph Williams pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. Wiliams, who was indicted on July 19, 2011, entered his plea before United States District Court Judge Patrick J. Schiltz.

In his plea agreement, Williams admitted that from May through November of 2010, he diverted approximately $29,000 from the bank by misleading it into paying off his personal debts through the use of Automated Clearing House (“ACH”) transactions. An ACH transaction deducts funds from one account and electronically sends those funds to another account in the form of a bank check. In addition, Williams admitted gaining access to the personal information of a customer at Anchor Bank in Apple Valley and using that information to lead the bank into making unauthorized transfers into Williams’ line of credit at Macy’s, Inc., in Houston.

For his crime, Williams faces a potential maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Judge Schiltz will determine his sentence at a future hearing, yet to be scheduled. This case is the result of an investigation by the Minnesota Cyber Crimes Task Force, which is sponsored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Secret Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew R. Winter.