MEMPHIS, Tenn.-A well-known top executive at Memphis Area Teachers CU, one of five senior officials terminated last month, claims her job was eliminated in retaliation for blowing the whistle to regulators on fraud, waste and violations of regulations at the $550-million credit union.
Judy Bell, who had been vice president for liability, claims in a lawsuit in federal court that she was in line to be CEO when she was fired in an executive suite housecleaning that also claimed four other vice presidents and forced the resignation of CEO Carlos Webb. The cuts came in a restructuring after the credit union lost $18.4 million last year and started receiving guidance from regulators about changes to make.
Bell and the other four VPs—vice president of lending, community affairs, CUSO operations and chief financial officer—were all given 45 days to decide whether to retire or resign with a buyout benefit, according to the credit union.
Bell, 51, started working at the credit union in 1997 as vice president for human resources and later added regulatory compliance and training to her responsibilities. Over the years she has struck a high profile in the community, serving on boards such as the Better Business Bureau of the Mid-South, receiving the "Smart Award" in 2008 from Girls Inc., and making speeches about "emotional intelligence" and business ethics.
In her suit Bell claims after she blew the whistle to regulators about internal problems at MATCU she was barred from attending board meetings, harassed by the chairman of the board, assaulted by the chairman and been removed from the CEO succession plan. She said she was also denied the job as interim CEO.
But the main allegations of the suit have been sealed by the court and lawyers for Bell did not return phone calls at press time.
Credit union officials did not respond to a request for comments.
