CLEVELAND – Koljo Nikolovski, a Balkan crime figure known in Macedonia as “Koljo the American” for his dual citizenship, pleaded guilty yesterday to bribery, fraud and money laundering charges in the massive loan scheme that sunk St. Paul Croatian FCU in 2010.
Nikolovski, 49, confessed to charges of paying Anthony Raguz, the CEO of the one-time $240 million credit union, bribes to approve some $70 million in loans to himself, family members and others that were never intended to be repaid. Raguz has already pleaded guilty to related charges and forfeited $500,000 in proceeds from the bribes.
Nikolovski, pleaded guilty to 18 counts of bribery, bank fraud and money laundering and is scheduled to be sentenced April 23, according to the plea agreement filed yesterday with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.
The collapse of St. Paul Croatian, based in the Cleveland suburb of Eastlake, will cost the National CU Share Insurance Fund an estimated $170 million in losses, making it one of the biggest credit union frauds ever. The huge losses have prompted a flurry of lawsuits by NCUA seeking recovery of the fraudulent loan proceeds from the borrowers.
Nikolovski admitted that he obtained about $5.6 million in credit union loans and wired the proceeds to personal bank accounts in Albania and Skopje, the capital of Macedonia, where he is purported to head the local crime syndicate. Macedonian newspapers described him as a gang leader fighting for control of the region's drug, sex and weapons trade.
His guilty plea comes as his ex-wife, Rose Nikolovski, a nephew and Raguz, among others, have pleaded guilty to lesser charges and agreed to testify against him. At least seven so-called straw borrowers have agreed to plead guilty in the case.
Under her plea agreement, Rose Nikolovski agreed to testify against her ex-husband and to forfeit $850,000 in Macedonian bank accounts. She will also forfeit a 2003 BWI valued at almost $13,000.
Others who have agreed to plead guilty are: John Cendol, who is Rose Nikolovski’s brother, Ruth Cendol, Edward Watral, Daniel Kocher and Jennifer Cerjan. All of the defendants are potential witnesses in the trail of Koljo Nikolovski.
At least eight other borrowers have also been charged in the case.
