Leaders addressed a Washington Post investigation about fraudulent practices related to student veterans benefits.
While a recent Washington Post investigation found trade schools which fleeced the VA of more than $300 million by teaching useless courses, charging exorbitant tuition, and other acts of GI Bill fraud, a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs leader said many of the cases in those articles are a decade old and have been dealt with.
“The truth is, many of these were prosecuted because of my staff,” Kenneth Smith, VA’s executive director of Education Services, told The American Legion’s Veterans Employment & Education Commission at their meeting at the 107th National Convention in Louisville, Ky., on Aug. 29.
Still, “We know we can do better, and we’re making investments in tools, both data as well as human tools, to help identify people when they’re doing wrong things, so…
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