“Zero dollars were lost due to this incident, but we felt it was best to open a new account to safeguard the City’s funds,” explains City Secretary, Kasi Wright in response to recent fraudulent activity directed toward the City of Wortham’s bank account.
According to Wright, a call was received from a woman living in Connecticut who stated that she had applied for a job via Craigslist, and in the process of accepting the position, completing her onboarding, and setting up direct deposit for her pay, it was discovered that it was a scam.
It seems whoever implemented the fraud somehow had access to the City’s check information, taken from a check that was issued to a vendor doing business with the City.
“We paid a vendor by check and sent payment through the mail,” says Wright. “The bank says that this happens more than people realize. The checks are ‘washed’ and information reused to pass fraudulent payments.”
After diligent research, several more attempts were made to take funds from the City’s account, but no money was lost.
“The bank (Farmer’s State Bank) is on top of it,” states Wright. “They were very reassuring, calm, and knew exactly what they were doing.”
The City has since closed the account that was affected and opened a new account, to ensure the safety of the City’s funds.
It is unknown at this time who perpetuated this scam, but law enforcement is involved and is working to discover the guilty party.
On a brighter note, Wright says that City Hall is currently undergoing renovation. As of this time, the entire building has been gutted and plans are to complete rehab and restore the building, giving it a new layout with new duct work, floors, and ceilings.
It is projected to take approximately a year to complete, and in the meantime, City staff is working in an office at the back of the Housing Authority building, across the street from City Hall.
Wortham City Hall can be reached by calling 254-765-3319.
Nicole Schaefer reporting
