Steven Orlando Banks, a Newport News police officer was
arrested by Hampton police Thursday on a felony embezzlement charge a week
after pleading guilty to a federal fraud charge in a separate case. Banks was
charged with embezzlement of more than $200, according to records from Hampton
General District Court. Banks, is accused of embezzling $1,975 while on the job
at Fast Auto Loans, according to a criminal complaint filed with an arrest
warrant. On five occasions between May 8 and June 19, Banks allegedly listed
his aunt's name as a referral on new loan entries and pocketed referral money
from doing so, according to the complaint. The complaint referenced a written
statement from Banks to his manager. In January, Banks and his brother Andre
were accused of fraudulently reloading a prepaid Visa debit card account by
misusing Green Dot MoneyPak cards sold in stores. The brothers were accused of
taking advantage of a computer system error that allowed multiple money
transfers from the same purchased MoneyPak card between December 2011 and March
2012, causing a loss of about $46,250 to UniRush Financial Services, the
Ohio-based company that provided the debit card accounts, according to the
indictment.