Municipal Credit Union Board Fires Accused CEO Kam Wong
Investigations continue into Wong’s alleged fraudulent schemes that stole millions from one of New York’s largest credit unions.
The board of directors for the $2.8 billion Municipal Credit Union fired its president/CEO Kam Wong Monday.
The termination of the 11-year CEO for New York’s largest credit union by members comes five weeks after a criminal complaint was filed in Manhattan’s federal district court that accused the 62-year-old executive of allegedly stealing millions of dollars from MCU through various fraudulent schemes from 2013 to 2018. Wong was placed on administrative leave by the board in February after receiving a recommendation from a special committee that is overseeing an internal investigation prompted by the federal criminal investigation.
Norman Kohn, MCU’s chief credit officer, has been appointed acting president/CEO.
In a prepared statement released Tuesday, MCU said it has been cooperating with the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s investigation, and that the credit union continues to conduct its own internal investigation led by outside counsel.
“In that these investigations are still ongoing, MCU cannot comment further at this time,” MCU said.
The federal criminal complaint alleges that Wong committed embezzlement, bank fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identify theft.
According to federal investigators, Wong’s alleged schemes included getting reimbursed for fake dental work; personal tax liabilities; millions in cash payments in lieu of long-term disability insurance payments and millions more for taxes to cover those payments; fake car repair bills on one of his luxury cars leased to him by the credit union; educational, housing and living expenses for two relatives; annual cash advances; ATM withdrawals and cash payments in place of 320 sick days he never used that violated his contract.
Wong deposited the funds from his schemes into an MCU account. He then withdrew approximately $1.9 million via ATMs over the course of more than 2,500 transactions – an average of more than one and a half transactions per day from which from July 2013 and January 2018.
Federal investigators also determined Wong bought $3.5 million in New York lottery tickets, and he also borrowed money from two individuals to buy even more lottery tickets.
Jeffrey Lichtman, a New York-based high-profile criminal defense attorney who is representing Wong, has said that the payments his client received were transparent and open with the board.
Although a criminal complaint that detailed Wong’s alleged felonies was filed in Manhattan’s federal court on May 8, he has not been indicted and formally arraigned on felony charges. A preliminary court hearing that was scheduled for June 7 did not take place.
The former CEO is free on a $1 million bond that was secured by his home on Long Island’s Valley Stream. He was also ordered to wear an electronic monitoring device and undergo a mental health evaluation and treatment, according to court documents.
His conditions of release also require Wong to not have any contact with MCU employees or board members, and to refrain from “possessing the identification of others.”
On May 31, the NCUA board took the unusual action to ban Wong from participating in the affairs of any federally insured financial institution so that he would no longer pose a threat to the interests of Municipal Credit Union members and impair the credit union’s public confidence. Typically, the NCUA places former credit union employees on its prohibition list after they have been convicted of theft, embezzlement or other fraud crimes.