After the former president/CEO was dismissed last August following a state-ordered conservatorship of the $589 million Alabama One Credit Union, the Tuscaloosa, Ala., cooperative announced Wednesday that William (Bill) C. Wells II was named its new president/CEO.

Eight months ago, Wells took over the credit union as an “agent for the conservator” managing the day-to-day operations. Former Alabama One President/CEO John Dee Carruth and other former credit union employees and board members were dismissed in August. They are suing the Alabama Credit Union Administration, the state's regulator.

According to Alabama One's prepared statement, Wells has more than 35 years of experience in the financial services industry. In addition to working 15 years as a financial regulator, he also worked as a chief risk officer for Regions Financial Corp., Regions Bank, AmSouth Bancorporation, AmSouth Bank, SouthTrust Corporation and SouthTrust Bank.

He also served as a commissioned national bank examiner with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and as an examiner-in-charge of multi-billion dollar regional banking institutions.

Wells launched his career in 1980 as an auditor for First Columbus National Bank.

In a prepared statement, Wells said he was very excited to be a permanent member of the Alabama One team. He also said that the team members have made tremendous progress in the last eight months turning Alabama One in the right direction.

“I am very proud of their strong commitment to the members that Alabama One serves, their dedication to the area they work in and to each other, their can-do attitude and willingness to accept change, and above all – their smiles,” Wells said in a prepared statement.

A few hours after Alabama One announced its new CEO, the Alabama Media Group reported that 108 acres holding a cabin, lodge, event center, private lake and docks, which was owned by convicted bank fraud felon Danny Ray Butler, will be auctioned off in June.

The local news outlet also reported that the credit union purchased Butler's property through an auction in July 2015 for $1.26 million, about $3 million less than the mortgage Alabama One held on the property.

The storm of controversies surrounding Alabama One began after October 2013 when Butler, a long-time member and local businessman, was indicted by a federal grand jury.

In its 51-count indictment, the jury charged Butler (pictured) with defrauding the Small Business Administration through a loan he had taken through West Alabama Bank and Trust, and kiting checks between West Alabama and Alabama One.

Butler pleaded guilty in February 2014 and was sentenced to three years in federal prison in Talladega, Ala., in September 2014.

But the credit union's problems did not stem from the check kiting, something that could have cost the credit union roughly $1.2 million. Alabama One has always maintained that it did not suffer a loss from the conspiracy.

Members raised questions about the credit union's relationship with Butler. They filed lawsuits over losses they said they had suffered because of loans they said the credit union had made for Butler in their names.

There have been numerous lawsuits filed by members, employees, state regulators and others claiming fraud, a hostile workplace environment, compliance and state law violations, conspiracy, breaches of fiduciary duties and the waste of corporate assets.

In April 2015, the ACUA and the NCUA filed a cease and desist order to force the troubled credit union to replace its CEO, COO and chief lending officer.

The latest court documents were filed last month in an Alabama state court by lawyers representing Carruth and other former credit union employees. They are seeking court-ordered subpoenas to obtain documents that they said can prove the conservatorship of Alabama One Credit Union was the result of a political agenda.

The plaintiffs claim the pressure came directly from Alabama Governor Robert Bentley, his legal adviser David Byrne and Rebekah Caldwell Mason, a top political aide with whom Bentley is alleged to have had an inappropriate relationship.

After the credit union was conserved in August 2015, it took until the end of the first week of October before the dismissed employees and board members were informed of the alleged grounds for the ACUA's action, said Paul Toppins, one of the lawyers representing Carruth and other credit union employees and board members.

“At that time, the details and grounds were cloaked in a protective order that prevents any petitioner from responding publicly to them,” Toppins said. “All we can say is that we expect to show they are trumped up, erroneous and completely without merit. The position of the petitioners is that the conservation of Alabama One Credit Union was driven by an agenda that had little or nothing to do with proper regulatory concerns.”