NCUA headquarters. Credit/NCUA
A former controller of a Georgia credit union and a former CEO of a Virginia credit union were banned from ever working at any federally insured financial institution, the NCUA said Tuesday.
Teresa Paulo was sentenced to five years in federal prison in September for embezzling $1.2 million from the Southern Pine Credit Union in Valdosta, Ga., for nearly a decade while she was its controller. In May, former Southern Pine CEO Leah Lehman was sentenced to six years for embezzling more than $4.4 million from the credit union.
Recommended For You
The $5.7 million embezzlement case led the NCUA to place the credit union into conservatorship in June 2020. The $30.9 million Southern Pine CU was released from conservatorship in March 2022.
Paulo has been incarcerated at an administrative federal medical center with an adjacent minimum security satellite camp in Fort Worth, Texas, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Demetria Baker was appointed CEO of the $29.7 million Lynchburg Municipal Employees Federal Credit Union (LMEFCU) in April 2018. By November of that year and through August 2022, she made a series of loans to herself and to her son, which violated the credit unions policies for approval, documentation and underwriting, according to the NCUA.
The federal agency also alleged in its prohibition order that these loans were used by the former CEO and her son for unspecific personal enrichment and to pay their personal bills. The loans were repeatedly adjusted and modified in violation of LMEFCU policies, the NCUA alleged.
“In addition, during this same time period, a significant amount of cash was removed from a cash drawer that was only accessible to respondent (Baker),” according to NCUA’s prohibition order. “As a result of respondent’s conduct, LMEFCU incurred significant losses.”
The NCUA did not report the total number of loans made by Baker or the monetary value of them. The federal agency also did not report the total amount of cash that was allegedly removed by Baker or whether her alleged conduct was reported to law enforcement.
Although the prohibition order stated that Baker did not admit or deny any wrongdoing, the NCUA did not report whether she agreed to restitution.
During Baker’s CEO tenure, the credit union posted a gain of $129,416 and $194,362 at the end of 2018 and 2019, respectively, NCUA financial performance reports showed.
But by the end of December 2020, LMEFCU recorded a loss of $919,366. The credit union also posted losses of $37,152 and $369,869, at the end of 2021 and 2022, respectively, according to NCUA financial performance reports. However, it is unknown whether these losses were caused, in part, by Baker’s alleged conduct.
At the end of 2023, LMEFCU recorded a gain of $117,920 and a gain of $92,429 in the third quarter of this year, NCUA financial reports showed.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Peter Strozniak
Credit Union Times reporter covering credit union operations, fraud, M&As, leagues, business continuity, and breaking news.
