Low-orbit internet banking fraud claim supposed to be a bunch of space junk

A case of supposed low-orbit digital banking fraud has taken a turn, with the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas lodged an accusation in which it claimed the accuser in the case had lied.

Low-orbit internet banking fraud claim alleged to be a load of space junk https://t.co/TexzK4a7aA

— The Register (@TheRegister) April 9, 2020

The case came to light in August 2019 when it was recorded how astronaut Lt Col Anne McClain rejected a claim that she had illegally retrieved a bank account belonging to ex-wife Summer Worden while aboard the International Space Station.

The claim was being inquired and things started to head south for Worden. The District Court charges Worden with “falsely claiming [an] officer accessed her bank account from International Space Station”.

The announcement explains the falsehoods as follows: “The indictment alleges Worden filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, alleging the officer [McClain] had improperly accessed her bank account. She claimed she had opened a new account in September 2018 and reset her login credentials in order to prevent the individual from accessing her accounts, according to the charges. However, the indictment alleges she actually opened the account in April 2018 and did not change her login credentials until January 2019.”

Furthermore, “The indictment charges Worden with making false statements on two occasions. She allegedly filed the false complaint March 19, 2019, with the FTC and later made a false statement in an interview with NASA-OIG July 22, 2019.”

This looks like investigators were able to go through a bank’s files and documents.

The case is off to court on 13 April, when Worden will appear before US Magistrate Judge Dena H Palermo.