SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Former D. Edward Wells FCU President Carol Aranjo, a one-time national spokesman for community development financial institutions, was found guilty this afternoon of conspiracy and embezzlement charges in the 2003 failure of the prominent CDCU.
A federal jury found the 66-year-old Aranjo and her husband Alphonso Smith, 67, conspired to use the assets of the $7 million credit union, making improper loans to family members and cronies and causing a loss of more than $2.2 million to the 44-year-old institution.
Their son, Douglas Smith, was also charged in the case but he drowned to death in a tragic boating accident last November, as the trial was nearing.
Aranjo, who came to national prominence in the late 1990's as chairman of the National Federation of CDCUs, now faces years in prison when she is sentenced in June.
D. Edward Wells was taken over in 2003 by NCUA and liquidated, with its remnants sold to another local credit union.
