Even though Jennings acknowledged that her shopping sprees were out of control, she emphasized during her court-ordered psychological therapy sessions that she was a very controlling person.

Very controlling executives or employees could be a warning sign for board members and supervisory board members, especially if an executive or employee never takes time off, according to David Legge, president of the Manassa, Va.-based Legge Group, which investigates internal fraud cases for credit unions and other businesses.

"Every credit union should have a mandatory vacation policy for all employees," he noted. "And you also should make sure someone is doing that person's job and not letting the work pile up."

Someone else needs to be doing those duties because it can uncover problems.

Fraud experts also said boards should be concerned when executives or employees make too many excuses for not producing information or performing tasks.

Although credit unions may view the vast majority of their staff as honest people, it is important to always perform verifications even for the most trusted employees.

"When you become complacent and you stop paying attention is when you become a victim," internal fraud expert Christopher J. Pippett, a partner at the law firm Fox Rothschild LLP in Exton, Pa., said. "That doesn't mean you have to have your people under 24-hour surveillance, but you need to regularly check and verify all of these things."

Read more insights from experts about detecting and preventing internal fraud in the Aug. 3, 2016 edition of CU Times.

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