DANVILLE, VA – Two years on the run ended with a guilty plea for Jorge Omar Navarro, 30, a former head teller at URW Federal Credit Union, who brazenly pilfered $600,000 from the Danville branch and attempted to replace it with counterfeit cash. Navarro isn’t just facing charges for financial crimes; a Durham, North Carolina bust revealed a parallel life as a drug trafficker, adding to the gravity of his offenses.
Navarro’s scheme unraveled in September 2018 when he absconded with the stolen funds, swapping legitimate currency for fakes in a desperate attempt to cover his tracks. The Danville Police Department swiftly launched an investigation, recovering the counterfeit bills before they could circulate, but Navarro vanished, becoming a fugitive. For two years, he remained at large, building a new criminal enterprise under an assumed identity.
The trail went cold until March 2021, when the Durham Police Department responded to a report of shots fired. They found Navarro, covered in blood and claiming to be the victim of a robbery. The story quickly fell apart. A subsequent search of the premises revealed a cache of illegal weaponry, kilograms of cocaine and marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and $74,000 in cash. Navarro confessed to obtaining the money through drug sales and finally admitted his true identity and fugitive status.
“A unique course of criminality culminated in today’s guilty plea,” stated Sandra J. Hairston, United States Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina. “This defendant used his position of trust within the credit union to gain access to large sums of money only to abuse that trust in the name of greed,” added Chris Kavanaugh, United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia. The collaborative investigation, involving the Secret Service, ATF, Homeland Security Investigations, and both Danville and Durham Police Departments, brought the multi-faceted criminal enterprise to a halt.
Navarro pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and one count of possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime in the Middle District of North Carolina. He also admitted guilt to one count of embezzlement and one count of using counterfeit currency with the intent to commit fraud in the Western District of Virginia. The combined charges carry a minimum sentence of ten years in prison, with the potential for life behind bars. A federal district court judge will determine the final sentence based on sentencing guidelines and statutory factors.
This case serves as a stark reminder that financial crimes often intertwine with other illegal activities. Navarro’s attempt to escape justice only led him deeper into a web of criminality, ultimately resulting in a far more severe legal predicament. The U.S. Attorney’s Offices for both districts are prosecuting the case, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eric L. Iverson and Rachel Barish Swartz leading the charge.
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Key Facts
- Agency: U.S. Secret Service
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Press Release
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