A lawyer for John Dee Carruth, CEO for the $613 million, 60,000-member, Tuscaloosa, Ala.-based Alabama One Credit Union, has threatened to sue one of the credit union's members if he does not stop allegedly defaming Carruth on Facebook.
The Birmingham, Ala.-based lawyer Barry Frederick wrote a letter to Kenneth Walters, a retired worker from the BF Goodrich tire manufacturing plant in Tuscaloosa, demanding the action on behalf of Carruth. Walters also served as a former union leader at the plant and has been a vocal critic of Carruth and other Alabama One executives.
"On behalf of an honest man and my client, John Dee Carruth … I hereby demand that you make a public, full and unqualified retraction that contrary to accusations, representations, and statements posted by you, or posted by others, on your Facebook page," Frederick wrote in a June 16, 2015, letter. "John Dee Carruth is not a crook, is not crooked and has not committed criminal conduct."
Frederick also demanded Walters remove statements from a Facebook page that he or others allegedly posted that called Carruth a crook, although the letter did not identify any specific posts that did so.
Walters acknowledged that he has actively criticized credit union leadership and called for Carruth to step down as CEO; however, he denied calling Carruth a criminal and said he apologized on June 22 after receiving the letter.
"First of all I would like to make a public apology to CEO Mr. John Dee Carruth after reading the letter below from Mr. Barry Frederick Attorney At Law (who is a friend mine). He has asked me to make a public apology and I just want to say to Mr. Carruth if I called you a crook, I do not remember ever doing that. I do remember stating many times that you have not been charged with any criminal activities and you will be a friend of mind to the very end. I do sincerely apologize if I did use the word crook. This is America. I still have my first amendment right," Walters wrote in a post on his Facebook page.
Some Alabama One members have alleged the credit union harmed them by making straw loans on behalf of Danny Ray Butler, and former board member Jerry Logan named Carruth in a class action suit against the credit union board and executives on behalf of Alabama One members.
Butler, who was once Alabama One's largest single business debtor, pleaded guilty to check kiting and fraud in February 2014 and is serving a 36-month sentence in federal prison.
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