PITTSBURGH – CUNA Mutual Group and its CUMIS Insurance unit have filed suit in federal court asking that the CEO of a now-defunct credit union be barred from shielding her assets under Chapter 7 of the bankruptcy code because they believe she embezzled $340,000 which the credit union insurer covered as part of a bond claim.
CUMIS, which held the bond on $2 million St. Albert the Great FCU, claims its manager, Tara Gibson and her husband Ronald Shialabba, "engaged in various activities that are nothing short of fraud."
The alleged activities included using the credit union’s checking account to pay her personal bills; crediting her personal St. Albert account with unsupported and fake deposit items; and issuing commercial loans to her and her husband and other family members and insiders in violation of the law.
The credit union, which was merged in August 2008 into nearby TriBoro FCU, filed a bond claim with CUMIS to recover the allegedly stolen funds and CUMIS paid the claim. In January, Gibson and Shialabba filed Chapter 7 seeking to discharge all of their debts.
In its suit, CUMIS claims the debt to the credit union is not dischargeable in bankruptcy because of how it was incurred."CUMIS is subrogated to St. Albert’s interest in recovering these monies from Gibson and Shialabba as if it was a party to this (bankruptcy) action," stated the credit union insurer in its suit.
