He allegedly paid off debt and went on an Amazon spree, but the account wasn’t his
A former T-Mobile employee is suspected of obtaining company bank account information and using it to pay off student debt and a personal credit card and to go on an Amazon.com shopping spree. All told, the 20-year-old man reportedly made nearly $6,000 in fraudulent transactions.
Bellingham police booked Patrick Praneet Singh into Whatcom County Jail Thursday, Oct. 10, on suspicion of first-degree identity theft and first-degree theft. Jail records show he was released Friday on personal recognizance.
Officers were contacted by a member of T-Mobile’s ownership group regarding fraudulent use of a debit card on Oct. 2, Lt. Claudia Murphy told The Bellingham Herald.
Singh was a T-Mobile employee from March 15 through July 11, Murphy said.
After his employment ended, Murphy said the ownership group was notified by their bank:
▪ On Aug. 14, that one of their bank cards had been used to pay off $2,035.63 of student loan debts on Singh’s account.
▪ On Sept. 27, that the account had twice been used to pay $818.62 toward Singh’s credit card balance.
▪ Beginning Aug. 16, that the account had been used by Singh to make Amazon.com purchases totaling $3,103.46.
The ownership group told police none of the transactions was authorized, Murphy said, and Singh was arrested on Thursday.
This story was originally published October 14, 2019 at 10:42 AM.
