Federal prosecutors alleged that the two men exchanged cash for individuals whom they believed might be engaging in criminal activity.

In late 2014, Murgio obtained “beneficial control” of a small New Jersey federal credit union, which was processing more than $30 million a month in ACH transactions, according to court documents.

Murgio managed his control over the credit union by making a payment to a senior executive and installing individuals close to him, including Lebedev, on the credit union's board of directors, prosecutors said.

Federal prosecutors did not identify the credit union in court documents. However, a New York Times story identified the cooperative as Helping Other People Excel FCU.

Although the NCUA learned the credit union was processing more than $30 million a month in ACH transactions, court documents do not say when it forced the New Jersey cooperative to stop processing the transactions. The NCUA also required the credit union to remove the new board members.

In its prepared statement, the NCUA said it placed the credit union into conservatorship to “resolve issues affecting the credit union's safety and soundness.”

The NCUA statement did not mention the Bitcoin exchange scheme.

Helping Other People Excel FCU's net worth was 10.20%, less than the peer average of 18.29% at the end of the second quarter, while its ROAA was negative 7.87%, less than the peer average of negative 0.53% on June 30, 2015, according to NCUA financial performance reports.

What's more, at the end of Q2 2015, the New Jersey credit union posted a net loss of $17,433, in addition to a net loss of $21,118 at the end of Q1 2015, according to NCUA financial performance reports.

The $149 million Pinnacle Federal Credit Union of Edison, N.J. will operate Helping Other People Excel FCU during the conservatorship under a management agreement with the NCUA. Members can continue to conduct normal financial transactions, deposit and access funds, and use shares through Pinnacle FCU.