Former Credit Union Board Chair Found Guilty
Mark Whitaker forges signatures on credit union documents.
Mark M. Whitaker, Portsmouth city council members, was originally indicted on 20 felony charges of forgery, check forgery and ID fraud in April 2017. He pleaded not guilty and rejected a plea deal before his trial began Monday.
On Tuesday, Virginia Circuit Court Judge Harold W. Burgess Jr. dismissed 17 forgery and ID fraud charges on the grounds of insufficient evidence, according to local media reports.
Whitaker did not testify during the three-day trial, but he has repeatedly claimed his innocence, according to the Associated Press and the Virginian-Pilot newspaper.
His sentencing hearing is set for Sept 26, but his lawyers said they intend to file a motion to “set aside” the verdict, the AP and newspaper reported. The jury recommended no prison time only that Whitaker pay a $7,500 fine.
Whitaker called the verdict a “travesty of justice,” according to local media reports.
The jury convicted Whitaker based on evidence that he forged the signature of Kevin Blount three times on loan documents, a promissory note and a credit union membership card, the Virginian-Pilot reported. However, Blount, a contractor, testified he did not agree to borrow from the credit union, and he did not authorize anyone to sign his name on any credit union documents.
The 172-member credit union, chartered in 1978, was associated with the New Bethel Baptist Church where Whitaker is an assistant pastor. He served as the credit union’s board chair from at least 2012 to 2015 when the credit union was liquidated because of its poor financial condition.
In December 2014, New Bethel FCU consented to a NCUA cease and desist order. The credit union posted net losses of more than $25,000 in 2014 and $3,900 by the end of June 2015, according to NCUA financial performance reports.
By April 2015, the NCUA placed the credit union into conservatorship. The credit union voluntarily liquidated in August.