It’s ‘business as usual? at Clarkston Brandon Community Credit Union, despite of, or perhaps in light of, a $20 million embezzlement investigation.
The credit union’s former chief financial officer, Michael LaJoice, walked into the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office headquarters in Pontiac on Jan. 6 and confessed to embezzling roughly $20 million from CBCCU during the past 12 years of his employment at the Independence Township branch.
Two days later, after detectives confirmed the credibility of his statements and the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office authorized the warrant, the OCSO announced LaJoice had been charged with 14 counts of embezzling $100,000 or more.
On Jan. 13, Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services Director Patrick M. McPharlin ordered CBCCU to be placed into conservatorship and appointed the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) as the conservator.
‘That means the NCUA is now running the Clarkston Brandon Community Credit Union,? said John Fairbanks, NCUA public affairs specialist. ‘We are conducting business as usual under our management. We have staff that oversees the operation and there will be staff on site. It’s not like we fired a bunch of people and put our people there. If you go to a teller, it’s not going to be an NCUA staffer. We are now managing operation of the credit union and business as usual continues.?
The NCUA, as always, continues to insure each and every credit union member up to $250,000. Credit unions, like banks, are depository institutions that offer consumers many of the same services, but credit unions are not-for-profit and are owned by their members for whom they’ve been established to benefit. Banks, on the other hand, are ‘for profit? and owned by stockholders.
According to an NCUA statement, ‘The Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services placed Clarkston Brandon Community Credit Union into conservatorship because of unsafe and unsound practices at the credit union. While continuing normal member services, NCUA will work to resolve issues affecting the credit union’s operations. Members can continue to conduct normal financial transactions, deposit and access funds, make loan payments and use shares.?
The credit union’s most recent call report listed 9,413 members and assets of $68.8 million.
LaJoice, a 36-year-old Tyrone Township resident, is being represented by Attorney Michael Manley, who requested and was granted a competency exam for his client. LaJoice’s next court date has not been set.