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RICHLAND -- A former bank executive said Tuesday that after repeated requests by her mother to steal the identities of customers, she finally caved in so they could buy expensive electronics and household goods.
Cassidy R. Janosky, 36, sobbed while admitting to four felony counts of mail fraud in U.S. District Court in Richland.
"Are you pleading guilty because you are guilty?" asked Judge Robert H. Whaley.
"Yes, sir," Janosky responded.
The Kennewick woman had worked at Bank of the West as a vice president, business development officer, when she took personal and financial information last year to open credit cards in the names of unsuspecting customers.
Janosky and her mom, Cynthia Jean Walker, then bought at least $13,000 in TVs, a Sony PlayStation 3, a treadmill and other merchandise on Sears.com.
Walker, 54, was a real estate agent. The credit cards and statements were sent to vacant Kennewick homes that were listed for sale. Janosky said her mother also worked at Sears.
The mother and daughter were indicted by a federal grand jury in March.
Tuesday, attorney Ken Therrien said that his client was "somewhat sensitive" because of her mother's betrayal in the case.
"(Janosky's) position is, 'I did what I did and I'm here to take responsibility for it and not try to minimize it,' " he told the court.
Janosky's sentencing is scheduled Jan. 20.
The standard range on each count of mail fraud is one year to 11/2 years in a federal prison, with the government planning to recommend for Janosky the minimum term, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Pamela Byerly.
The sentence on each charge typically is served at the same time, but the judge can order it done back-to-back.
Therrien said he may argue for less time behind bars.
Walker pleaded guilty earlier this month to two counts of mail fraud. She could get up to six months in prison at her sentencing Jan. 13.
When she admitted having a role in the scam, Walker agreed to testify against her daughter if the case went to trial.
Janosky, asked by Whaley to tell him what she did, wept as she gave her side of the story.
"Well, I've tried not to place blame on anybody else, so I'm taking responsibility for what I did," she said.
Janosky said her mom repeatedly had been borrowing money from her when she came to her daughter with the theft scheme.
Walker was then dating a man in prison who reportedly encouraged her and gave advice on how to pull it off, Janosky said.
"She kept begging me and begging me ... and finally I just did it," she said.
Before starting, Walker allegedly was trying to figure out ways to cheat the computer system at Sears so they wouldn't get caught.
Walker's boyfriend told the women to use another location, like the business center at Janosky's complex and a Kennewick hotel, to register online for the credits cards and complete the transactions on the Sears website, Janosky said.
The women then took turns picking up the items at the Kennewick store.
The charges are for purchases made in December 2007 and the beginning of January. Credit cards from US Bank, Citibank and Chase were received in the names of three bank customers.
The scheme came to light Jan. 3 when a report was filed with West Richland police by a woman who'd just learned her name was used for a card. That credit card had a $24,000 limit, Byerly said.
The victim drove by the address listed on the credit card account and saw a "For Sale" sign in the front yard. She also found out that the person who was fraudulently using her name had given an e-mail address with her maiden name, a security measure often used by banks.
The woman also learned that someone had applied for a second card in her name but the request was denied, Byerly said.
West Richland Detective Theresa Morrell spoke with loss prevention officers at Sears about $4,224 charged to the fraudulent card Dec. 28. She watched a surveillance video showing a woman, reportedly Janosky, picking up the goods the next day.
Morrell then found out about an earlier purchase in the same victim's name but on a different card. That was for $2,637 and the order -- two recliners and a rug -- was canceled by police before it was shipped, Byerly told the court.
Janosky ordered a $942 treadmill on Jan. 1, intended to be a birthday present for her mother. On Jan. 2, the women also spent $5,253 online.
They were caught Jan. 6 when they stopped by the Columbia Center mall store to get all the items, which included a 32-inch LCD TV, a 46-inch LCD TV and the PlayStation. Janosky reportedly sent her mother into the store because she was worried employees would recognize her because she'd been in the week before for two TVs and an iPod.
Police searched the homes of Janosky and Walker on Jan. 6 and recovered most of the items, Byerly said.
During those searches, detectives found information tracing back to the two other victims, one of whom already had filed an identity theft report with Richland police. The other victim, in a check of her credit history, learned a card with an $8,000 limit had been received, and another application for an $11,000-limit card was denied because of lack of information, she said.
