Police news.
Jabez James Downer, of Pottstown, is accused of theft and fraud for stealing from Superior Credit Union.
A Pottstown man has been accused of felony charges of theft, access device fraud and dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity for allegedly systematically overdrafting his bank account by more than $26,000 due to an online gambling habit and failing to repay the money.
On Sept. 25, 2024, Superior Credit Union at 100 Crosskeys Road in Lower Providence Township contacted police regarding a customer, identified as Jabez James Downer, 23, of the 60th block of West Fifth Street, who had systematically overdrawn his account to a negative balance of $26,964.27, police said.
Detectives allege Downer took advantage of the credit union’s online banking system, which occasionally goes offline overnight and cannot stop account overdrafts. Downer allegedly performed banking transactions during these hours, which meant the withdrawals went through on a negative account balance.
Authorities said Downer was intentionally exploiting the system to fund a gambling habit.
According to the bank, Downer had a negative balance since July 18, 2024, which started at -$19.48 and grew to -$27,512.88 by Sept. 3, police said.
Downer had deposited funds, but only enough to drop the accont to -$26,964.27, according to the affidavit. The credit union made several attempts to have Downer repay the funds, but all efforts were unsuccessful, investigators said.
Police said Downer had a pattern of repetitive withdrawals ranging from $12.71 to $500, between July 18 and Sept. 3. All in all, Downer had completed 41 Cash App withdrawals, 39 withdrawals to FanDuel, and six withdrawals to DraftKings, according to the complaint.
On Dec. 17, detectives met with Downer to discuss his bank account, and he allegedly acknowledged that he is the owner of the overdrawn account, police said. Downer allegedly confirmed the negative account balance and said it was a result of online gambling habits.
Downer told investigators he became aware that he could reload the accounts, even though his bank account had a negative balance, police said. He admitted that his spending grew quickly out of control and he hoped to win a large sum of money to pay off the balance, according to the affidavit.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
