CDCU Figure to Plead Guilty to Conflict Charges

HARRISBURG, Pa. – The executive director of the local housing authority has agreed to step down and plead guilty to federal charges that he steered $835,000 to the now defunct Greater Harrisburg Community CU to help fund the fledgling community development credit union.
 
Carl Payne, 66, was scheduled to stand trial in federal court in January on charges that he improperly used funds from the Harrisburg Housing Authority to open and support the credit union start-up, which was chartered in 2001. Payne, who was CEO of the credit union, was also charged with lying about receiving $134,000 from the housing authority to pay for his credit union work.
 
Payne is expected to plead guilty misdemeanor charges related to his backdating documents to obstruct the grand jury’s investigation of the case.
 
The credit union was shuttered by NCUA in 2006 with losses of $264,000 for the first nine months of 2005.