Former CU Branch Manager Sentenced for Bank Fraud

A former branch manager for the $9.4 billon Security Service Federal Credit Union will spend two years in federal prison after admitting she stole more than $134,000 from a 92-year-old member.

U.S. District Court Judge Claudette Retana in Denver last week also ordered Claudette Retana, 61, to serve five years of supervised release following her prison term and pay $135,850 in restitution.

In exchange for her plea of guilty to two bank fraud charges, prosecutors agreed to drop 18 bank fraud felonies.

Between 2009 and 2017, Retana was the manager of the SSFCU’s Mt. Carmel branch in Pueblo, Colo. After she left the credit union, the victimized member, identified only by her initials, FH, learned that the balances in her savings account and CDs were much less than she expected.

SSFCU initiated an internal investigation and determined there had been 63 transfers from MH’s CD accounts to her savings account and more than 120 cash withdrawals that had not been authorized by FH from 2009 to 2017. The credit union also learned FH only dealt with Retana.

The investigation disclosed Retana often moved money after making computer entries, which was traceable to her, from FH’s CD accounts to FH’s savings account. Even though there were withdrawals were from CD accounts, there were no corresponding entries for penalties for early withdrawals, according to court documents.

Retana submitted withdrawals slips with FH’s forged signature to tellers because the cash withdrawals could only be completed by them. Retana was not allowed to make the cash withdrawals.

The former branch manager would often advise tellers that FH had called ahead and would be coming to the former branch manager’s office to pick up the funds or would say FH was in her office. The tellers, who did not question the manager about the cash withdrawals, gave the money to Retana but they never saw FH, according to court documents.

To conceal her scheme, Retana told FH that the credit union no longer mailed monthly statements. Though Retana showed FH printed computer screen shots of her balances, the screen shots did not display any withdrawals. Retana also verbally told FH what her balances totaled, but the withdrawals were not revealed, federal prosecutors said in court documents.

Prosecutors also said Retana increased the interest rate on FH’s CDs without the credit union’s permission so that FH would not move her funds to another financial institution.

Because of the credit union’s investigation, FH was reimbursed $134,650, plus $26,550 in lost interest that resulted from the unauthorized CD account transfers.

Federal prosecutors did not say how Retana spent the stolen funds and they do not say why the former branch manager left the credit union.