Brenda Partin, a woman from Tiverton, has admitted to being part of a fraud scheme that tricked a bank into sending nearly a quarter of a million dollars to an account she controlled. The case was brought to light by federal authorities, who investigated the scam for months.
It all started in May 2022 when a hacker took control of an email account belonging to a construction company in Tennessee. The hacker used this email to send fake instructions to a global snack company, telling them to change their payment details. Trusting the email, the snack company sent payments meant for the construction company to a bank account in Rhode Island. That account belonged to Brenda Partin.
Between August and September 2022, the construction company unknowingly sent four payments, totaling nearly $225,000, to the fraudulent account. The money was meant to pay for services but instead ended up in the hands of Partin and her associates. As soon as the funds arrived, the withdrawals began.
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How the Money Was Spent
Partin wasted no time using the stolen funds. On September 8, 2022, she transferred over $26,000 from the account to buy a car, which she registered in her own name. On the same day, she instructed someone she knew to open another bank account at a different bank. She then moved $30,000 from the first account to the second one.
Over the next four months, money continued to be withdrawn from both accounts. Some of it was spent on purchases, while other amounts were taken out as cash. The transactions raised suspicions, leading bank officials to investigate further.
By December 5, 2022, the bank had decided to take action. They closed the second account, which still had about $108,000 remaining. However, Partin and her associates did not give up. For the next nine months, they repeatedly tried to convince bank employees to release the money.
Lies and Deception to Retrieve the Money
To get access to the frozen funds, Partin told bank employees multiple false stories. First, she claimed that the money was from a car accident settlement. Then, she changed her story and said that the money was sent to her by her fiancé. Later, she said that the co-owner of the account had earned the money while working in Turkey and was suffering from leukemia. She argued that the money was needed for his medical expenses in case he passed away.
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In August 2023, she went even further. She told the bank that her associate had died and that she needed the money for funeral costs. Despite these desperate attempts, the bank did not release the funds.
Authorities launched a full-scale investigation into the fraud, led by the Rhode Island State Police Financial Crimes Unit and the FBI’s Rhode Island Complex Financial Crimes Task Force. After gathering evidence, federal prosecutors charged Partin with attempted bank fraud.
In a court hearing, Brenda Partin admitted her role in the scheme and pleaded guilty. She is now awaiting sentencing, which is scheduled for June 10, 2025. A federal judge will decide her punishment based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
The case highlights the dangers of business email compromise fraud, where criminals use fake emails to mislead companies into sending money to the wrong accounts. Authorities continue to warn businesses to verify payment instructions carefully to avoid falling victim to such schemes.
