Shawn Lee Nelson, the former vice president of lending at the $463 million Members Choice Credit Union in Houston, will be sentenced in September after pleading guilty last week to embezzling $340,309 by opening signature loan accounts in the names of three members.
Nelson admitted in U.S. District Court in Houston last week to embezzling the funds from August 2003 to September 2009 to pay for his personal expenses, according to court documents.
The fraud was uncovered in 2011, authorities said.
Meanwhile, in an unrelated case in Duval County Court in Jacksonville, Fla., Brittany Chalayne Johnson was sentenced June 19 to five years in prison after being convicted of grand theft, fraud and criminal use of personal identification information while she was employed at the $1.2 billion Community First Credit Union in Florida in Jacksonville.
She was also ordered to make $32,200 in restitution to the credit union.
Between March and September 2011, Johnson used customer account information to illegally access funds. For one of the member's accounts, Johnson listed herself as a beneficiary to the account before she made the transaction and then removed herself from the account shortly after making a withdrawal, according to the State Attorney's Office.
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Peter Strozniak
Credit Union Times reporter covering credit union operations, fraud, M&As, leagues, business continuity, and breaking news.
