Former credit union employee sentenced to 8 months for stealing from accounts

A former Hawaii USA Federal Credit Union employee is going to jail for eight months for stealing from member accounts to pay his rent.

U.S. District Judge Derrick K. Watson on Tuesday sentenced Bradley J. Hampton to jail and ordered him to repay Hawaii USA FCU the $60,991 it spent to replenish the money stolen from member accounts.

Hampton, 37, was a Hawaii USA FCU financial services officer when he stole more than $60,000 between February 2017 and June 2018. He forged signatures, made false entries in credit union records and even pointed the finger at someone else when one of the account holders questioned the unauthorized withdrawals.

Hampton converted the money he stole into cashier’s checks made payable to his landlord to pay the rent on his 25th-floor condominium in downtown Honolulu.

He pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud in June. Hampton also moved into a more modest residence. In exchange for his guilty plea, the government dropped an aggravated identity theft charge.