ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — A man was federally indicted on charges after falsely claiming his home was damaged by Hurricane Helene, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, Russ Ferguson, announced.
A federal grand jury in Asheville indicted Christian Michael Hall, 49, of Drexel, N.C., on charges of defrauding the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), according to the press release.
On or about Sept. 30, 2024, Hall filed for a disaster application with FEMA seeking benefits for a home in Valdese that was damaged by Helene, according to the indictment. Hall claimed the Valdese property was his primary residence, even though he did not own, rent or live there.
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As a result of the false application, Hall received about $20,932.14 in FEMA benefits, according to the indictment.
Hall was charged…
THE TD BANK INSIDER “BRIBE-FOR-DATA” SCHEME (USA)
Date: February 17, 2026 Perpetrator: Edward Low (Former Bank Employee)
Case Description: In a high-profile case of “Insider Threat,” Edward Low, a former employee of TD Bank in New York, pleaded guilty in a New Jersey federal court to accepting bribes in exchange for confidential customer data. Between 2021 and 2022, Low leveraged his internal access to harvest the personal details of high-balance account holders. He then sold this “hot data” to external fraud syndicates for as little as $26,700 in personal kickbacks.
The external fraudsters used the information Low provided to conduct “Account Takeovers” (ATO), creating fraudulent checks and falsifying bank records to drain over $500,000 from unsuspecting customers. Low even went as far as helping co-conspirators open shell company accounts at a second financial institution where he was later employed. He now faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. This case has sent shockwaves through the global banking sector, highlighting that even the most robust external firewalls cannot protect against a “rogue insider” with administrative credentials.
Link to Original: US Dept of Justice – TD Bank Insider Plea