Community Education Police & Fire
Prosecutors charge security guard at TCC-Gig Harbor with theft, forgery
Pierce County prosecutors charged a security guard at the Gig Harbor campus of Tacoma Community College with theft and forgery, alleging that she deposited $63,000 worth of fraudulent checks into her own bank accounts.
The 10 checks drew from an Umpqua Bank account belonging to the Tacoma Community College Foundation, according to documents filed in Pierce County Superior Court.
Zaquita L. McClanahan, 34, of Kent, faces charges of first-degree theft, first-degree identity theft and forgery. Court documents say McClanahan worked at TCC-Gig Harbor for three years before being placed on administrative leave after the foundation discovered the thefts.
The foundation learned of the problem in December 2023, when Umpqua Bank froze its account due to “suspected fraudulent activities.”
Court documents indicate McClanahan deposited the checks into an account under her name. The checks had the account and routing numbers of the foundation’s Umpqua Bank account, but the check numbers were inconsistent. That’s why the bank flagged the transactions.
The foundation previously issued two $500 checks to McClanahan, once for a car that broke down and another for an unspecified “hardship.” Prosecutors believe those checks allowed McClanahan to gain access to the routing and account numbers, which she then used to order checks online.
The first fake check, for $7,500, was cashed on Nov. 15, 2023, at a Tapco Credit Union. On Dec. 4, McClanahan deposited a check at a Tapco ATM in Gig Harbor. Security footage “shows the defendant in her TCC security uniform and driving her TCC vehicle.”
She allegedly deposited other accounts in a BECU account she opened for that purpose.
Charging documents indicate that when confronted by her supervisor, she immediately admitted to trying to deposit a check for $8,500.
The college foundation recovered the funds, according to a college spokesperson.
Editor’s note: This story has been corrected since it was first posted. McClanahan’s first name is now correct. Also, McClanahan’s supervisor confronted her, not the college foundation.