A former bank employee in Pennsylvania is accused of stealing more than $111,000 by opening fake accounts over a 20-year period.

Todd Michael Jones, 49, of Unity Township faces charges of theft, forgery, identity theft, and misapplying financial institution property, says Pennsylvania State Police.

A criminal complaint alleges Jones opened multiple First National Bank (FNB) accounts in the names of five people from September of 2006 through February of this year.

Between August 12th and August 17th, the alleged victims visited a branch just outside Greensburg and filed 19 disputes totaling $101,246 over unauthorized withdrawals and account closures.

Surveillance footage allegedly shows Jones was present during the withdrawals and received the cash.

The bank has reported a total loss of $111,246.10.

Jones has posted $50,000 in unsecured bail and is not in custody.

A preliminary hearing is set for December 16th, before Magisterial District Court Judge Scott A. Fanchalsky.

The bank says it thoroughly investigates allegations of fraud or employee misconduct and will not comment on the specifics of the ongoing case.

Says FNB Chief Communications Officer Jennifer Reel,

“We … ensure that appropriate action is taken when warranted, including termination and involvement of law enforcement.”

Reel also says FNB has “strong” fraud prevention systems designed to detect, prevent and investigate suspicious activity.

“Protecting our customers remains one of our top priorities.”

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The post Former Pennsylvania Bank Employee Accused of Stealing $101,246 by Opening Fake Accounts in Other People’s Names for 20 Years appeared first on The Daily Hodl.

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Zcash fell nearly 15% amid a broader sell-off in privacy coins, a day after Grayscale pledged $1 million to ecosystem initiatives.

Zcash (ZEC) fell to a two-month low of $962.85 on Wednesday, a day after Grayscale pledged $1 million to nonprofits and projects supporting the Zcash network.

As of 12:20 pm UTC Wednesday, Zcash’s 13.5% drop led 24-hour losses among the 100 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization and was down 24.5% over seven days. The decline was part of a broader crypto sell-off that left Bitcoin (BTC) down 5.8% and Ether (ETH) down 11.6% over the same period, according to CoinGecko.

Crypto prices fell further Tuesday after US consumer prices rose 0.4% in October from the previous month, above economists’ 0.3% forecast.

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Barclays reported a $187 million stake as of Sept. 30, while Citigroup disclosed a new $119 million position in Fidelity’s Bitcoin ETF.

Barclays reported holding 3.94 million shares in BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) at the end of the third quarter, up 48% from the previous quarter.

The position in the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) was worth about $187 million on Sept. 30, up from $88.5 million for 2.66 million shares on June 30, according to Barclays’ Friday Form 13F filing.

“Early readings suggest longer-term holders make up a growing share of the spot bitcoin ETF investor base,” Bitwise analyst Camran Khosravi told Cointelegraph, pointing to increased bank exposure, including at Citigroup.

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The expansion adds more than 200 tokenized UK and EU equities, including all 40 companies in Germany’s DAX index, as xStocks plans further expansion into Hong Kong.

Kraken parent Payward’s xStocks platform added tokenized versions of more than 200 stocks listed in the United Kingdom and European Union. 

Payward said Wednesday that eligible users can trade the new tokens on Kraken and participating xStocks Alliance platforms. The tokens remain unavailable to investors in the UK.

The expansion includes tokenized shares of all 40 companies in Germany’s benchmark DAX index, including SAP, Siemens, Allianz and Deutsche Telekom. According to a separate Wednesday announcement from Deutsche Börse, the tokens are available for trading on its affiliated 360X platform, with 24/7 trading supported on select venues.

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Bitcoin fell to an 11-week low of $72,670 after slipping below short-term holders’ average cost basis of about $75,700, according to CryptoQuant.

Bitcoin (BTC) short-term holders sent more than 47,000 BTC to exchanges on Tuesday as Bitcoin fell to an 11-week low, with the coins worth less than their purchase price.

Key points:

Data from onchain analytics platform CryptoQuant showed short-term holders sent 47,025 BTC carrying unrealized losses to exchanges in the 24 hours to midnight UTC at the start of Wednesday.

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The federal government has sued Lyft, accusing the ride-hailing company and its drivers of routinely refusing service to passengers with disabilities.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges Lyft violated Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Justice Department says.

The civil lawsuit accuses Lyft and its drivers of regularly refusing rides to people with disabilities. It also alleges that Lyft charges cancellation fees to passengers who are denied service and fails to make reasonable changes to accommodate riders with disabilities. The DOJ says one example is refusing to let passengers with mobility disabilities sit in the front seat when needed.

“The lawsuit seeks $53 million for individuals with disabilities who Lyft has discriminated against, and who have submitted complaints to Lyft or the Department.”

The lawsuit also asks the court to order Lyft to stop these practices, update its policies to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and train its employees and drivers on the law. It also seeks compensation for people who experienced discrimination and a civil penalty to hold Lyft accountable and protect the public interest.

Says Acting Assistant Attorney General Jesus A. Osete of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division,

“Individuals with disabilities should be able to rely on rideshare services free of discrimination. We intend to uphold the ADA’s promise that people with disabilities are entitled to equal access in every part of public life, including essential transportation services.”

The complaint says the problem is widespread.

“Lyft denies service to hundreds, and likely thousands, of individuals with disabilities who travel with service animals, or who use wheelchairs or other mobility devices.”

Lyft says it disagrees with the allegations outlined in the Justice Department’s lawsuit.

The lawsuit follows a 2020 out-of-court settlement in which Lyft agreed to pay damages and revise its wheelchair policies after the department investigated similar allegations.

Lyft is a ride-hailing company that provides rides to millions of people across the United States.

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