CLEVELAND — Alex Spirikaitis pleaded guilty Monday to his role in embezzling $15 million from the failed Taupa Lithuanian Credit Union.
The former CEO pleaded guilty in U.S District Court here to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Spirikaitis could face a $1 million fine and 30 years in federal prison, according to Michael Tobin, a spokesman in the United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio.
Spirikaitis' sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 9. At the same time, former CU bookkeeper Vytas Apanavicius will be sentenced for his role in the scheme, pleading guilty Monday to one count of conspiracy to commit embezzlement.
Spirikaitis was part of an alleged six-person fraud ring. After the Federal Bureau of Investigation uncovered the embezzlement, Spirikaitis eluded authorities for three months before being captured in October 2013.
