KNOXVILLE, Tenn.–One of two men responsible for a string of robberies during 2015 that involved kidnapping CU employees in their homes has pleaded guilty to multiple charges.
Brian Scott Witham, 45, pleaded guilty to charges in a 15-count indictment involving armed bank extortions of Y-12 Federal Credit Union in Oak Ridge, Tenn., SmartBank in Knoxville and Northeast Community Credit Union in Elizabethton, Tenn.
In addition, as part of the plea deal, Witham also pleaded guilty to similar charges in North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. U.S. attorneys and judges in those districts had earlier agreed to transfer those cases to the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Tennessee.
The charges include being a felon in possession of a firearm in Haywood County, N.C. (where Witham and fellow suspect Michael Benanti were captured); armed robbery of an Ingles in Arden, N.C.; armed robbery of the Peoples Security Bank and Trust in Clarks Summit, Penn.; and attempted armed bank extortion of the CFO at Achieve Financial Credit Union in New Britain, Conn.
Sentencing is scheduled for August 17 in Knoxville. He previously pleaded not guilty in January.
Witham and Benanti, 43, were arrested on Nov. 25 by the North Carolina State Highway Patrol. According to the Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee Dave Lewen, Benanti and Witham were only able to successfully extort money from the SmartBank in Knoxville.
Benanti continues to enter a plea of not guilty, with his trial scheduled for March 29 in Knoxville, where he is currently being held. Trial for Benanti is scheduled for March 29.
The convictions of the duo should help bring some peace to many in the financial services community who were shocked at the kidnappings and robbery attempts. Concerns had grown to the point where financial executives were being cautioned by authorities to travel different routes and even to avoid having family pictures in their offices. Related coverage can be found here.
Witham’s plea in Connecticut brings to a close the oldest of the kidnapping/robbery cases, the February, 2015 case involving Matthew Yussman, CFO at Achieve Credit Union. Yussman was confronted in his home and held hostage overnight as part of a robbery attempt in which Yussman had a purported bomb vest placed on him. The robbers told him to drive to the credit union in the morning and to withdraw cash. Yussman, whose mother was also held hostage as part of the robbery attempt, called the CU’s CEO instead and no money was ever withdrawn and delivered. Yussman’s mother also escaped unharmed.
The CEO at a credit union in Tennessee, a branch manager at a credit union in Tennessee, and a bank executive in Tennessee would all also be part of kidnapping/robbery attempts by Witham and, allegedly, Benanti during 2015.