BURLINGTON, Vt. – The former president of River Valley CU on Wednesday was sentenced to six months in prison and ordered to pay as much as $200,000 in restitution for funds he stole from the Brattleboro credit union.
Gary Ellis, 57-year-old former chief executive officer of River Valley, was fired in 2005 after 15 years for taking extra salary, bonus and other payments not approved by the board of the $52 million credit union over a four-year period.
An audit of the credit union found that even though the board approved an annual salary for Ellis, it entrusted him to pay himself without any direct oversight. “No system was in place to realize that Ellis was paying himself more money than that to which he was entitled,” according to court records.
So even though the board authorized $80,300, in 2000, comprised of a salary of $72,800 and a bonus of $7,500, he actually paid himself $93,165, an additional $12,865. In 2002 and 2003, Ellis overpaid himself by more than $50,000 each year, according to court records. This pattern occurred all the way through 2005 – resulting in a total of $197,000 in overpayments – when Ellis was fired.
The exact restitution figure is scheduled to be determined at another hearing.
