Ashland City Woman Sentenced to Four Years in Federal Prison for Credit Card Fraud Scheme

Samantha Jean Thompson, 39, of Ashland City, Tennessee, was sentenced Monday to four years in federal prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release, for bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, announced U.S. Attorney Don Cochran for the Middle District of Tennessee. Chief U.S. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw, Jr., also ordered Thompson to pay $569,231.78 in restitution.

Thompson was indicted in August 2017 and pleaded guilty to six counts of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft on March 1, 2018.     

According to documents filed with the Court, between May 2014 and October 2016, Thompson was employed as the office manager and bookkeeper of Builder's Supply Source, Inc., a cabinetry supply company in Nashville.  Thompson admitted that she used her position to make fraudulent charges to American Express credit cards issued to company employees, utilizing the mobile payment application Square, Inc.  Thompson renamed her account with Square to closely resemble the name of a legitimate vendor and then used Square to process cash transfers to her personal bank account.  During the execution of this scheme, Thompson made fraudulent transfers 289 times that totaled more than $500,000.

According to testimony at the sentencing hearing, Builder’s Supply Source participates in area Re-entry initiatives and employs persons being released from prison.  The future of all employees was placed into jeopardy when the company was almost bankrupted by Thompson’s actions.  The scheme was uncovered after Christmas bonuses were paid and the bank notified the company that there was insufficient funds in their account.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Siji Moore  prosecuted the case.