Cease-And-Desist Issued To Mysterious 'Zurich CU'

A temporary cease-and-desist order has been issued to the operators of "Zurich Credit Union" by this state's regulator, the Division of Credit Unions. The order states that the operators are in violation of the Washington CU Act by using the name "credit union." There is no Zurich Credit Union in Washington, nor is one registered in the U.S. and Canada. But as reported earlier by The Credit Union Journal, it has been posing as a credit union in a series of newspaper ads offering loans in exchange for a deposit. According to the Washington regulator, Zurich Credit Union is an address in Carrolton, Ga., with Ellen Cameron, registered owner of www.zurichcreditunion.org, listing her address as Hamilton, Ontario.