Credit/Shutterstock
The abrupt April 3 closure of ATM Solutions Inc. (ASI), which caused ATM outages across 12 states, was likely set in motion last year when an ASI employee stole $1,960,000 in cash from Ohio’s largest credit union, according to court records.
U.S. District Court Judge Benita Y. Pearson in Cleveland sentenced Raymond Betts in March 2024 to 41 months in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to one felony count of embezzlement from a credit union. Betts was ordered to pay $1.4 million to ASI and $816,000 to the $9 billion Wright-Patt Credit Union (WPCU) in Beavercreek, court documents showed.
Recommended For You
From April 2016 to April 2023, Betts worked as a vault manager in Cleveland for ASI, a Kentucky-incorporated automated teller machine servicer and WPCU vendor. He first took $1,000 in $50 bills at the end of a workday. Monthly, he continued stealing by stuffing bound currency straps into his pants, typically taking between $2,000 and $5,000 at a time. Prosecutors said he once took as much as $300,000 in a single day.
After WPCU was paid $1,144,214 by ASI’s insurer, the company agreed in October 2024 to pay the remaining $815,786. ASI agreed to pay the credit union $75,000 monthly payments starting in January until the debt was paid in full. The settlement granted WPCU a first-priority security interest in ASI’s assets equal to the settlement amount.
On March 7, however, WPCU filed a breach of contract lawsuit in Greene County Common Pleas Court in Xenia because ASI failed to make its monthly payments. On March 12, Judge Adolfo A. Tornichio granted the credit union an emergency motion for prejudgment to freeze all ASI-held funds, including bank accounts.
However, on April 1, WPCU and ASI jointly filed a “stipulation and agreed order” stating they were negotiating a resolution. They agreed to unfreeze the funds. If approved by the court, ASI would wire $75,000 to WPCU within 24 hours. The agreement expressly stated that neither party waived any legal rights should negotiations fail.
Those talks may have faltered, however, because on April 10, ASI lawyers filed a notice to move the case from state court to federal court in Dayton, presumably for neutrality (less local bias) or rules of procedure. The next day, WPCU filed the original complaint in Dayton federal court.
ASI’s attorneys did not respond to CU Times’ request for comment on Monday.
Credit unions in a dozen states have continued to deal with ATM service issues following ASI’s closure, which the company blamed on “unforeseen business circumstances,” according to an April 3 email.
Last week, about 50 credit unions from Tennessee, Kentucky and Mississippi participated in a Zoom call hosted by the Tennessee Credit Union League to assess impacts, exchange information and discuss restoration efforts.
Credit unions reported mixed results — some ATMs were still functioning while others have gone offline. One institution said an ASI representative told them the machines would work until they ran out of cash.
Many institutions said they cannot access their machines, some of which remain loaded with vendor-controlled cash. Credit unions also had questions about their legal options regarding replacing the ASI-owned ATMs and whether they could access credit union-owned ATMs that ASI had been operating for them.
Credit unions were urged to communicate proactively with members, explaining that the ATM outages were caused by a third-party vendor’s collapse and not an internal failure. They were also encouraged to direct members to surcharge-free ATMs and to reimburse fees incurred elsewhere.
Peter Strozniak can be reached at [email protected].
© 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.
