NORFOLK, Va. – In a significant crackdown on financial fraud, a local Virginia Beach resident, Malcolm McKinney, 32, has been handed down a seven-year prison sentence for orchestrating a scheme that targeted the Navy Federal Credit Union (NFCU) and involved passing fake currency at several Wal-Mart locations.
The elaborate scam, detailed in court filings, unfolded between April and July of 2018. McKinney exploited stolen identities, funneling them to an accomplice who then set up NFCU accounts and secured entirely fabricated auto loans. These loans, once approved, were cashed in by other members of the group, leading to a staggering loss of over $300,000 to the NFCU.
McKinney’s criminal endeavors didn’t stop there. Following his guilty plea for the NFCU fraud, and while on bond awaiting his sentence, he led a counterfeit currency operation in the spring of 2023. With counterfeit $50 and $20 bills, McKinney managed to defraud at least 10 Wal-Mart stores across Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, purchasing a variety of goods including video game consoles and kitchen appliances. His spree was cut short when he was identified through Wal-Mart’s security footage and subsequently apprehended.
This case saw four of McKinney’s associates previously entering guilty pleas, with their sentences ranging between 45 to 81 months behind bars.
The announcement of McKinney’s sentencing was made by Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, alongside Derek W. Gordon, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Washington, D.C., following the decision by U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen. The prosecution was led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph L. Kosky.