A Minneapolis woman who grew up with Prince managed to get away with millions of dollars in stolen cash after hacking into banks.
Tanya Smith managed to amass millions by breaking into bank computer systems at age 20 in the 1980s as part of a wire fraud scheme.
In her new book, “Never Saw Me Coming: How I Outsmarted the FBI and the Entire Banking System — and Pocketed $40 Million,” Smith recounts the crimes that landed her in prison for more than 13 years.
The book documents his early life, which includes referring to a friend’s older brother as a rock star prince, his time behind bars and a daring escape in 1988.
During the trial for her crimes, Smith took a soap-opera-worthy turn by introducing a twin sister in court and challenging eyewitnesses to tell them apart, in a clever attempt to sow doubt in the minds of jurors.
Tanya Smith managed to amass millions by hacking into bank computer systems at the age of 20 in the 1980s as part of a wire fraud scheme.
Tanya and her sister Tamara Jo accused each other of carrying out the fraud before a voice expert testified that they had both been involved.
The twins made phone calls to bank officials and persuaded them to release hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, claiming they were transferring money to cover it up.
A jury found her guilty on 37 counts of wire fraud, bank fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and credit card fraud, the Star Tribune reported.
In his new book, out later this month and viewable here, Smith chronicles his life and crimes.
Her twin sister was convicted of almost exactly the same charges, and Tanya was sent to a prison in West Virginia from which she escaped in 1988.
Talking to him Star Tribune Before the launch, Smith told the outlet that he had been able to hack banking networks because his “brain just kicks in.”
He added: “Somehow my brain kicks in and I can figure things out. I can make things happen. I’ve always been that way.
“If someone has a problem and needs help, I can probably help them find a strategy.”
While being questioned by Minneapolis police, who refused to believe she was intelligent enough to commit the crimes, she told the outlet it was the first time she had experienced racism.
Smith said: “Growing up in North Minneapolis, I never experienced racism. My friends were of all races and religions.
‘The first time I really encountered racism was when I was in that interrogation room.
‘That was the turning point for me. I was always trying to help other people, but that’s when I said, ‘Okay, let me show you how smart this black woman is.’
A jury found her guilty on 37 counts of wire fraud, bank fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and credit card fraud.
When pressed to talk about Prince, she revealed that she had been close friends with his younger sister, Tyka.
He added: “Prince was just… we knew he had talent. We saw him play all those songs. instruments since I was very young.
“But he was just Tyka’s brother. He was always a good person. As we grew up, I noticed he had improved a lot.
An excerpt from the book shared with the outlet shows that she used to tease the star in her younger years, describing him as someone “who didn’t talk much.”
Says: ‘The Nelsons lived six blocks from our house. Taryn (Tanya’s twin) and I used to pick up our Barbie dolls and head over to Tyka’s house to play.
‘Born in 1960, like us, Tyka had a beautiful singing voice. Her parents were jazz musicians.
‘His father, John, played piano and used the stage name Prince Rogers; his mother, Mattie, was a singer.
A young prince is seen here in 1970, and CBS station WCCO discovered the clip in 2022 after what they described as a stroke of luck.
Smith revealed that she had been close friends with Prince’s younger sister Tyka, seen here in the 1984 film Purple Rain.
‘There was always music playing in his house, especially in the basement, where his older brother played drums or keyboards.
He recalled how his mother would tell them to go to the basement, where Prince played his drums, if they started to get too loud, much to the chagrin of his older brother.
Smith writes: After a few more screams from his mother, Prince would get angry and stomp up the stairs. He wasn’t much of a talker, but his cold grimace let us know he was pissed off.
‘We enjoyed tormenting Prince. Even when we didn’t want to play with Barbies, we would pressure Tyka’s mother into kicking him out of the basement.’
“He had written a song to make fun of us called ‘Lippy Lippy Lou’ about a nasty girl with big lips. I was too mad to take in the words, but I still remember the funky beat of the song. All his pounding on the drums and keyboard was paying off.”
She also writes in her book that at age 13 she obtained a plane ticket to fly to Michael Jackson’s house and demand to meet him.
Prince sold more than 100 million records before he died at the age of 57 in 2016, following an accidental fentanyl overdose.
Smith now lives in Los Angeles, where, according to the outlet, she cares for homeless people and works part-time in customer service.
She told the Star Tribune that her daughter had influenced her to write the book after coming across newspaper clippings a few years ago about her mother.
His publisher has also since hinted that the book could also be adapted for the big screen.