A member of Congress has been the victim of theft, and the thief was someone the House member trusted for years.
On Tuesday, Courtney Hruska, 40, of Alexandria, Va., pled guilty to felony wire fraud and faces up to 20 years in prison at her sentencing hearing on June 23, the DOJ said in a press release.
Hruska admitted that she knew the victim was ‘not tech savvy.’
Hruska stole a total of $22,865.07 from the victim, described in the DOJ press release only as “a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.” According to the statement of facts signed by Hruska, Hruska worked for this congressperson as office scheduler, office manager, and administrative director between 2015 and early 2022.
NBC News reported that Hruska worked for longtime Ohio Democrat Rep. Marcy Kaptur, 79, though whether Hruska ever worked for any other member of Congress is unclear. The statement of facts reported that the victim had “a personal bank account … at a financial institution in Brooklyn, Ohio.”
Between August 2023 and July 2024, at least 18 months after leaving Kaptur’s office, Hruska used the victim’s personal bank account information on at least 10 separate occasions to make payments on her own credit card bills, the statement of facts said.
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Hruska had been given the victim’s personal banking and credit card information to make “specific purchases” under “limited” circumstances as part of her “official duties” in the victim’s employ, the statement of facts said. Prosecutors believe Hruska kept that information after leaving the victim’s office.
Furthermore, Hruska left that job after securing another government position with the victim’s help. The statement of facts claimed that the victim helped Hruska land a job with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The USDA did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.
The victim kept track of personal finances by hand. Hruska admitted that she knew the victim was “not tech savvy” and likely would not get any alerts about the money transfers, the statement of facts said.
The victim discovered the missing funds after a check bounced in 2024. During the investigation, Hruska initially blamed “hackers from the dark web” for the money transfers from the victim’s bank account to Hruska’s credit card bills, the statement of facts said.
Because more than a year lapsed between the initial theft and the discovery of it, the victim was able to recover just 9% of the lost funds, or little more than $2,000.
Thus far, Kaptur’s office has been tight-lipped about her former staffer’s conviction. A spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News, NBC News, or the New York Post.
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Courtney hruska, Congress, Marcy kaptur, Ohio, Democratic party, Democrats, Politics
