Former Calif. CU CEO Pleads Not Guilty to Grand Theft & Forgery Charges

Tina Torres pleaded not guilty in Ventura County Superior Court last week to charges that she allegedly stole more than $250,000 from a California credit union while she was its CEO.

Torres was arraigned on 25 felony counts of grand theft and forgery, according to the Ventura County District Attorney office.

Since at least 2012, Torres had been CEO of Limoneria Federal Credit Union in Santa Paula. The credit union changed its name to Valley Agricultural Federal Credit Union three years ago and currently manages $5.5 million in assets and serves 647 members, according to NCUA records.

From 2016 to 2019, she allegedly embezzled the credit union’s funds and forged documents to conceal the theft from the board of directors. Torres also served as the board’s treasurer, according to the credit union’s profile reports filed with the NCUA.

An audit detected suspicious wire transfer schemes, which allegedly enabled Torres to siphon credit union funds. She allegedly used the money to pay her personal debts, police investigators said.

The board fired Torres in August 2019.

She is scheduled for an early disposition conference on Aug. 2 at Ventura County Superior Court and remains free on a $40,000 bond.