Two former employees of the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office in West Virginia have been indicted on federal charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and multiple counts of bank fraud, U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey announced.
A federal grand jury returned the five-count indictment against Barbara Gail Gooden, 60, and Lisa Lee French, 48, both of Martinsburg. Prosecutors allege the pair carried out a scheme spanning nearly two decades — from 2007 to 2024 — in which they embezzled cash payments collected by the Sheriff’s Office and manipulated conservatorship and estate bank accounts administered by the office.
According to the indictment, Gooden and French issued fraudulent checks, forged signatures, misused a signature stamp and diverted funds for personal use. In total, the defendants allegedly executed more than 700 fraudulent transactions, including over 550 forged checks,…
These frauds exploit emotional vulnerability and trust rather than technical weaknesses.
- Romance Scams: Scammers build long-term online relationships with victims, eventually fabricating a “crisis” (medical emergency, legal trouble, or travel costs) that requires the victim to send money.
- Pig Butchering: A hybrid scam where the criminal builds a romantic or platonic relationship to eventually “tutor” the victim in a fraudulent cryptocurrency investment.