Despite this, an investigation is ongoing and officials are still tracking down the parties involved in the breach.
What you need to know
Manvel had $450,000 stolen in September and retrieved the money in late October, officials announced at the Manvel state of the city event on Nov. 13.
Manvel Police Captain Rick Alvarado told Community Impact on Nov. 19 that the city was able to get the money back with the help of other agencies, including the FBI and the Texas Financial Crimes Intelligence Center.
Officials were able to retrieve the money through what Alvarado said was a two-pronged approach. First, they used the bank the city goes through to alert other financial institutions about the particular sum of money that was stolen, which would flag it if was transferred out to another account.
The second was tracking down routing numbers used in the theft with the help of legal means such as subpoenas, which helped locate the money faster.
Mayor Dan Davis said Nov. 20 he was grateful the money had been recovered and that the city is committed to “ensuring justice is served.”
“Transparency and accountability are paramount, and we will continue working closely with law enforcement to safeguard our city’s resources,” Davis said.
How it happened
Alvarado clarified the city’s bank account was not breached and neither was any relevant banking information tied to the city. Rather, a payment method the city uses to pay normal bills was compromised.
In an Oct. 28 news release from the city announcing the stolen money, officials said the breach stemmed from suspects getting into the city’s email system.
Despite the breach, officials said no information related to residents was stolen or compromised.
Stay tuned
The investigation is ongoing, Alvarado said. Typically, these kinds of scams can originate from international sources but law enforcement are still tracking down leads from within the United States.
“We get our stuff off making cases, so we’re still working diligently on locating who this person was,” Alvarado said.
Meanwhile, city officials said in October they are hoping the incident helps to strengthen the city’s cybersecurity going forward.
