SANTA FE, N.M. – The long-time CEO of Land of Enchantment FCU last week filed suit against the board of the $11 million credit union in state court claiming he was dismissed after he questioned loans made to friends and relatives of a loan officer.
Joseph Maldonado, who was fired Jan. 5, said in his suit that at a board meeting Oct. 27, nearly all of the credit union's employees accused him of being "lazy, overpaid, unprofessional and even harassing."
But Maldonado, who headed the credit union for 16 years, claims the meeting was a sham because many who attended were ineligible to vote because they are not members of the credit union. The suit includes a list of more than two dozen people believed to be nonmembers who voted in an election of board members.
Maldonado claims the real reason for his dismissal is that he was investigating the conduct of his chief loan officer. The complaint accuses her of "irregularities in loans ... to herself and her family and friends, as well as other improper loan practices."
Named as individual defendants in the civil action are the members of the board of directors plus the loan officer, whom the lawsuit says was fired about a month after Maldonado.
Officials with the credit union were not immediately available for comment.
