DePalma said he drove to the credit union with Dave Ax, the Groveland Township treasurer, on Jan. 8, just one day after the headlines appeared in the local press.

"This is just doing what we can to protect the money that belongs to our residents," he said.

When DePalma and Ax pulled into the credit union's parking lot, there were several TV news camera trucks, and reporters were interviewing Donna Bullard, Clarkston Brandon Community's president/CEO, who was standing in front of the credit union.

"Frankly, while we were there I was surprised," DePalma said. "It just seemed like it was business as normal. People were coming and going and I think they were just doing their regular banking activities as far as I could tell. It didn't look like a panic and people weren't lined up waiting to draw money out."

He said staff employees were very nice and cordial. Credit union employees did not try to dissuade him from making the $1 million transfer, he added.

After receiving confirmation slips that the money had been transferred to a Chase Bank account, DePalma and Ax left.

The NCUA and the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services would not comment on whether other members have been closing their accounts.

"At this time, every account holder has access to their funds," Andrea Miller, communications manager and public information officer for DIFS, said. "It's business as usual at the credit union."

The agencies also noted that all of the accounts up to $250,000 are insured by the NCUA.

The embezzlement case became the talk of the township and other communities Clarkston Brandon Community serves after LaJoice, 36, walked into the Oakland County Sheriff's Office on Jan. 6 and told stunned police investigators he stole $20 million over 12 years from the credit union. He admitted to concealing the theft through fake transactions and investments over 12 years, according to police.

In a prepared statement, the credit union said during the week of Jan. 4 that its leaders were made aware of potentially serious accounting irregularities during a routine visit from the DIFS. After LaJoice was confronted about the errors, he failed to show up for work the following day and was immediately terminated as CFO, according to the prepared statement.

"We are appalled and dismayed by this news," the credit union's statement read. "Our first and foremost priority is expressing profound regret to our members and the community that this crime occurred and was not uncovered sooner. During the entirety of LaJoice's employment, Clarkston Brandon Community Credit Union has had regular examinations and audits that were conducted in accordance with the Michigan Credit Union Act."

Like many in the community, however, DePalma was left perplexed about how the embezzlement could go on undetected for so long.

"I can't imagine in a financial institution how somebody could get away with embezzling $20 million over the last 12 years," he said. "How do you take a third of the assets of the financial institution for over a decade and nobody finds it? I find that amazingly hard to swallow. I can't understand how it happened."

Finding out how the embezzlement happened was the motive behind DIFS Director Patrick M. McPharlin's decision to issue an order Jan. 13 that placed Clarkston Brandon Community into conservatorship and appointed the NCUA as the conservator.

Because the order gives state and federal officials total operational control over the credit union, they are expected to determine how much money was embezzled, how the money was stolen and what steps the credit union will need to take to be released from conservatorship.

In working to resolve these issues, Clarkston Brandon Community will continue to operate to serve its 9,400 members.

However, the DIFS said it has not set a timeframe or made any decisions about the credit union's long-term future.