An Ohio business owner admitted in U.S. District Court in Cleveland Monday to embezzling $2.3 million from the failed Taupa Lithuanian Credit Union.
John Struna, 52, of Concord Township, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, making false statements and money laundering, according to federal prosecutors.
He will forfeit a restaurant – the Sunny Street Café in Concord Township – a condominium in Florida and a 2014 Mazda because they were purchased with money he stole from the credit union, according to court documents.
Struna, along with five others, including Alex Spirikaitis, Taupa Lithuanian's former president/CEO, conspired to defraud the credit union from 2007 through 2013.
The fraud case caused a $33.5 million loss to NCUSIF, according to the NCUA Office of Inspector General's material loss report.
The NCUA and the Ohio Department of Commerce took possession of he t$23.6 million Taupa Lithuanian in July 2013 and placed it into receivership because of insolvency. The Cleveland cooperative served about 1,150 members.
Struna maintained both personal and corporate accounts at Taupa dating back to 1995.
He began a conspiracy with Spirikaitis in 2002 that continued through 2013. Over eleven years, Spirikaitis made approximately 46 fraudulent transfers into Struna's accounts that totaled $2.3 million, according to court documents.
In 2011, Struna requested and received $112,105 from Spirikaitis for the purchase of a condominium located in Ft. Myers, Florida. Struna never submitted any credit applications or loan documents, federal prosecutors said in a prepared statement.
What's more, Struna repaid only approximately $15,000, according to court documents.
Struna is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 25.
Spirikaitis, a former teller Michael Ruksenas and Vytas Apanavicius, a former bookkeeper, have previously pleaded guilty for their roles in conspiracies related to defrauding the credit union.
In February, Ruksenas was sentenced to 17 months in federal prison for stealing more than $481,000.
Spirikaitis, who embezzled $4.2 million from the Cleveland cooperative, is set to be sentenced Dec. 1, and Apanavicius, who stole nearly $1 million, is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 25, according to court records.
In August, Gary Chaney of Streetsboro, and Patrick Bruckman of Chester Township, both Cleveland suburbs, were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit theft or embezzlement from a credit union. They maintained personal accounts at the cooperative, as well as a corporate account for Network Systems Engineering a computer consulting firm they owned, according to the court documents.
Federal prosecutors charged Chaney and Bruckman embezzled nearly $1.9 million from Taupa Lithuanian.
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