PEKIN, Ill. — Charles Juska, the former head of Tazewell County School Employees Credit Union, is accused of misapplying more than a half-million dollars of the CU's assets.
The ex-president faces a 10-count federal indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Peoria, Ill., that alleges he forged signatures to create loans for customers without their knowledge, and then used the proceeds to cover other members' delinquent loan payments.
The indictment accuses the 52-year-old Juska, who led the $26-million asset CU for 17 years before leaving in 2010, of seven counts of misapplication of the credit union's funds and three counts of false record entry. The crimes are alleged to have taken place between 2005-10.
Juska pleaded not guilty to the charges on late last month and remains free on bond pending his next court appearance scheduled for Aug. 7.
The indictment states Juska willfully misapplied about $550,000 of the institution's assets, but does not indicate if the former CEO profited from the crime or how much the credit union has lost.
TCSECU President Kevin Freeman declined to address any CU losses, telling the Pekin Daily Times that no members lost savings as a result of the alleged fraud.
The indictment stated Juska wrote loans in the names of members without their consent to service other members "unable to obtain additional loan funds or having trouble making payments" on current loans.
Juska created loans for customers not eligible and failed to verify the value of collateral cited in loan applications, some of which didn't exist, according to the indictment.
