Chantail Williams Arraigned On Theft, Money Laundering Charges -04/04/24

Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt today announced that Chantail Williams, 39, was arraigned on a secret grand jury indictment for seven charges related to stealing and laundering public funds from the City of Portland in May 2022.

Case Facts

On May 26, 2022, police were made aware of a cybersecurity breach that occurred with the City of Portland’s computer network. It was discovered that a malicious actor compromised the email account of a Portland Housing Bureau employee and fraudulently misdirected approximately $1.4 million that was intended to go to Central City Concern for construction on an affordable housing project. 

Law enforcement discovered that the fraudulent transfer was wired to a bank account in Florida on April 25, 2022. The account belonged to an LLC, and the account was managed by Chantail Williams. Detectives determined that Williams made wire transfers from the Florida bank account to various other accounts, including international accounts. They also discovered payments made to a Cash App account belonging to Williams; $25,000 in cash withdrawals from the Florida bank account; and a $25,000 purchase of a car using a debit card associated with the Florida bank account (records obtained included Williams’ driver license involved in the purchase of the vehicle). It was also determined that the same account belonging to Williams made purchases of home furnishings and that the majority of funds were transferred to a bank in Mexico.  

Indictment

The case was referred to the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office for review. Upon review of the evidence provided by law enforcement, DDA Jesse Hoffman presented the case to a grand jury, which returned a true bill of indictment on February 26, 2024, for the following charges:

• One count of Aggravated Theft in the First Degree
• One count of Aggravated Identity Theft
• One count of Felony Computer Crime
• Two counts of Laundering Monetary Instrument
• Two counts of Criminal Conspiracy to Commit Laundering Monetary Instrument

The indictment was sealed, and a warrant was issued for Williams’ arrest. She was arrested in Florida and transferred to Multnomah County custody on April 3, 2024. Williams was arraigned on the charges today, and the court ordered security release in the amount of $100,000. 

A charging document is only an accusation of a crime. Williams is innocent unless and until proven guilty. 

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