Security guard at Pierce County college branch stole $63K in check scheme, charges say
A 33-year-old woman is accused of stealing $63,000 from the Tacoma Community College Foundation while working for the school as a campus security guard.
Zaquita McClanahan was charged with first-degree theft, first-degree identity theft and forgery, according to court records. She is accused of committing the thefts between Nov. 15, 2023 to Dec. 4, 2023.
McClanahan was a security guard for TCC’s satellite campus in Gig Harbor since 2021. She has since been placed on administrative leave, pending the completion of a full investigation, according to a spokesperson for the school.
An arraignment at Pierce County Superior Court is scheduled for Sept. 17, records show.
Charging details
An investigation began after the TCC Foundation learned in December 2023 that its Umpqua checking account was frozen due to suspected fraudulent activity. There were 10 checks in the amount of $63,000 that were allegedly deposited in McClanahan’s name but had the account and routing number of the foundation, according to charging documents.
Prosecutors wrote that the check numbers were not consistent with the checks the foundation wrote.
The foundation previously gave McClanahan two checks. A $500 check was issued to her in 2022 for a car that broke down. Another $500 check was for hardship. The checks issued to McClanahan had the account and routing numbers that were on the fraudulent checks, documents show.
The fraudulent checks ranged from $2,500 to $8,500, prosecutors wrote.
McClanahan was relieved of her duties after her supervisor and another manager spoke to her at her workplace. Human resources and McClanahan’s supervisor followed up with her later through a phone call on Dec. 14, 2023, Tamyra Howser, vice president of college relations at TCC told The News Tribune.
Prosecutors wrote that the first check, amounting to $7,500, was cashed in on Nov. 15, 2023. The last check was “negotiated” at a Gig Harbor TAPCO Credit Union on Dec. 4, 2023.
There was security footage from the credit union that allegedly showed McClanahan wearing her TCC security guard uniform and driving the school’s vehicle. McClanahan also allegedly opened up a BECU banking account to deposit the other checks, documents show.
McClanahan allegedly told police that she had an online relationship with a person she never met in real life or through video. She said she provided bank account information to them because they were in financial distress, prosecutors wrote.
She said this person allegedly gave the information to a third person. The third person was going to send McClanahan checks. The checks came to her Kent residence, which listed the account and routing number of the school’s foundation, documents show.
They were reportedly the checks that were used to transfer the money, and McClanahan provided them to detectives, documents show.
Howser said the amount taken from the foundation has been fully recovered.
Editor’s note: This story was updated Sept. 6 to correct information about the circumstances of McClanahan’s administrative leave.
This story was originally published September 5, 2024 at 10:00 AM.
