Links in “Financial Crime”

Alex Spirikaitis, the former CEO of Taupa Lithuanian Credit Union, was finally captured yesterday by the FBI in Cleveland, where the credit union was located. The FBI reported that Spirikaitis, who has been charged with making false credit union entries that led to the collapse of the $23.6 million credit union, had significantly altered his appearance to avoid detection. [10/22]

Holy Love Ministry in Ohio had sued NCUA claiming it was owed an additional $250,000 in share insurance coverage as a result of the liquidation of St. Paul Croatian FCU. More than 20 people have been indicted or imprisoned for fraud as a result of the largest fraud case in credit union history. The church has filed a second suit for $1.5 million for compensatory damages. [10/17]

The failure of a Wisconsin housing finance CUSO that was a factor in the collapse of Members United Corporate Credit Union has led to the indictment of four of its former executives. The $9.2 million fraud involved the creation of an investment instrument based on a pool of mortgages formed in the name of the CUSO with interest payments going back to the CUSO executives. [10/8]

CFPB goes after a leading debt collection payment processor, Meracord, for its alleged part of collect millions of dollars in illegal upfront fees from consumers. Total fine: $1.38 million. [10/4]

It is estimated that current AML techniques are only able to detect and stop $170 million in money laundering activities annually. [9/30]

Defendants stole more than 2,000 identities and attempted to collect more than $20 million in bogus tax refunds laundered through accounts; 22 arrested and 33 remain at large. [9/30]

Scam involved persuading straw buyers to submit false documents and persuading homeowners to tell lenders they were selling their homes at falsely inflated prices. [9/27]

Going by the name of "AmTrade International Bank," fake bank instructs victims to send checks to receive a semi-secured credit card. [9/27]

In fact, it may end up costing you a million dollars. Donna Harabin, a former executive with Telco FCU in Elmira, New York, has pled guilty to bank fraud and faces a potential prison term of 30 years and a $1 million dollar fine. Harbin changed due dates and posted false payments in order to mask the credit union’s 75% delinquency rate. [9/24]

Former EVP and senior loan officer of the since-failed Bank of the Commonwealth gets 17 years for conspiracy to commit bank fraud; among his misdeeds was taking out loans on properties to make payments on other past due loans to prevent them from appearing on the bank's past due loan reports. [9/18]