FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The former president of General CU was charged this week with creating phony loans that helped him embezzle as much as $1.6 million from the credit union.
David Thieme, 49, worked for General CU for 20 years was appointed CEO in 2004 and fired from the $76 million institution last April after the alleged fraud was uncovered. Just before his termination, three credit union employees reported concerns to their superiors about irregularities in transactions made with Thieme’s loan officer number.
When confronted with irregularities, Thieme admitted to making $800,000 in unauthorized loans to "help members stay out of delinquency," according to fraud charges brought by state prosecutors on Monday. When questioned about his actions just before his termination, Thieme said some of his transactions were to help credit union members who were "down on their luck," according to court records.
Within a week after he was fired Thieme paid back $800,000 to the credit union, the records show.
Officials with the privately insured credit union, which reported a $2.3 million loss for 2008, said they believe the scheme involved as much as $1.6 million.
Thieme is accused of : improperly using credit union general-ledger funds to make payments on otherwise delinquent loans; engaging in numerous, undocumented, interaccount transfers, or "loans" involving unrelated parties or trusts he served as trustee; engaging in various account maintenance transactions, such as modifying obligation dates or delaying payment dates, to avoid loan review; and overpaying a member for contracted janitorial services and using the excess payments to reduce the member's loan balance.
