Credit Union Loan Officer Helps Police Arrest Accused 'Con Artist' Pastor
Clergyman who allegedly used a 91-year-old member to get a loan to buy a boat faces embezzlement charges.
The sharp eyes of a credit union loan officer led to the arrest of a pastor who attempted to take out a loan for a pontoon boat with a power of attorney document allegedly signed by a 91-year-old member of the $721 million ELGA Credit Union based in Burton, Mich.
Raymond M. Vliet Jr., 55, of Flint, was charged last week with two felony counts of alleged embezzlement from a vulnerable adult, according to Genesee County Sheriff Robert Pickell. Vliet is the pastor of the Old Beth-el General Baptist Church in Flushing.
“This is another case of a con artist and swindler masquerading in a profession that allowed him to disguise his scam with relative impunity,” Pickell said during a news conference posted on YouTube by MLive, a news site.
According to police, Vliet took the elderly man, a church member who reportedly has dementia, to ELGA CU’s Flushing branch to apply for a loan to buy a boat.
“This loan officer not only denied the loan request, but even after she was shown the power of attorney (document) by Pastor Vliet, she still denied it,” Pickell said. “She also made an observation (that) when he (Pastor Vliet) was going through his file folder, she saw what appeared to be other power of attorney (documents) for other members of this church.”
The loan officer, Jessica Cameron, informed Flushing Branch Manager Sarah Thompson about the suspicious incident.
“This is just an example of our associates care and concern for our members,” ELGA CU President/CEO Karen Church, said. “When the loan officer felt that the request didn’t make sense for our elderly member, she provided the information to the branch manager. Sarah made the call to report suspected elderly abuse, which led to the arrest of Vliet. It’s never an easy call to make; however, we have a responsibility to protect our members’ best interest. We are proud of the team for looking out for our member and any others that would have been taken advantage of by Vliet.”
The police investigation also found that the pastor convinced the victim’s wife before she died to sign over their modular home in the name of the Old Beth-el General Baptist Church.
“She did that because she was so taken in by the pastor that he was doing God’s work,” Pickell said.
He estimated that Pastor Vliet allegedly embezzled up to $50,000 from the credit union member, which included cashing in on $3,000 life insurance policy on the victim and a $10,000 life insurance policy on the deceased wife. The pastor reportedly used some of the life insurance money to pay for casino trips.
The police investigation also found that on the same day Pastor Vliet failed to secure a loan from ELGA CU, he went to another credit union in Flint and managed to obtain a loan to buy the pontoon boat.
What’s more, Pastor Vliet allegedly returned later to that same credit union for a car loan that was approved.
“He didn’t have a car big enough to pull the boat, so he went back to get another loan to buy a jeep to pull the boat,” Pickell said.
He declined to identify the credit union when reached by the CU Times Tuesday.
Because Pastor Vliet’s credit rating was so poor, he used the member’s power of attorney document to get the loans approved, according to police.
Pickell said the investigation is ongoing, which means Pastor Vliet may face additional charges. He is currently free on bail.