Flight Attendants' Dues Deducted
APPLE VALLEY, Minn.-NWA FCU has agreed to automatically deduct dues for the new flight attendants' union at Northwest Airlines after the airline refused to do it. Dues owed to the Professional Flight Attendants Association, which recently replaced the International Brotherhood of Teamsters as the bargaining representatives for the attendants, will be deducted from the members' credit union accounts. More than 90% of the attendants have accounts with NWA FCU. Northwest deducts dues for its other employees paychecks but said last week it would not do so for the newly chosen flight attendants union.
e-Bay Scam Laundered Funds At CU
SANTA ROSE, Calif.-A local man was arrested last week and charged with fraudulently selling thousands of dollars worth of goods over the eBay Internet auction site and laundering the funds through his account at Health Care FCU.
Dustin Sofge, 21, allegedly bilked almost two dozen prospective buyers in California and eight other states between March 4 and June 26. Sofge allegedly used five addresses to receive payments between $1,000 and $2,000 but never provided any of the promised items to the victims.
2 CUs Select Bank For Processing
CINCINNATI-Fifth Third Bancorp said it signed processing agreements with two credit unions. Fifth Third will process customer credit and debit card transactions for Cape Fear CU, a $14-million credit union in Wilmington, N.C., and will process debit card and ATM transactions for Select Employees CU, a $20-million, Sterling, Ill.-based CU.
Shorty Gets Long Prison Sentence
SAGINAW, Mich.-A 20-year-old car thief was sentenced to a minimum of 24 years in prison for a robbery of $3,629 from Saginaw Medical FCU. James Shorty, Jr., who was convicted eight previous times for stealing cars, robbed SMFCU in 2001, claiming he had a gun, then fled on foot. Three blocks away from the credit union he stole a car from a woman, and then used a bus to get to Long Beach, Calif., where he was finally arrested.
Suit Against Sallie Mae Dismissed
ALEXANDRIA, Va.-A federal court this week dismissed a civil suit brought by College Loan Corp. charging Sallie Mae with market manipulation and other anti-competitive practices in the student loan market.
The jury dismissed all charges in the case, which included claims that Sallie Mae, the dominant player in the student loan market, illegally abused its power in order to boost profits at the expense of student borrowers by: denying borrowers their rights to consolidate loans with the lenders of their choice; diverting applications to Sallie Mae affiliates without the borrower's consent; attempting to induce the three major credit bureaus to block CLC's access to borrower information so that CLC could not inform borrowers of their rights to consolidate their loans.
3 Marines Guilty In ATM Robbery
JACKSONVILLE, N.C.-Three Marines were court-martialed and sentenced to prison for using stun guns and mace to rob ATM users at Marine FCU.
The three, Sgt. Franco Harris, 22, Lance Cpl. Jonathan Horace, 21, and Pfc. Gary Johnson, 21, attacked a corporal outside the credit union last Feb. 13 with a stun gun and forced him to give them his ATM card and PIN. They used the card at least three more times to withdraw funds from the credit union ATM.
A military judge sentenced Harris to 22 years in prison, forfeiture of all pay and military allowances, and busted him down to private. Horace was sentenced to 21 years in prison, and Johnson to 15 years, for their roles, respectively, in the crime.
Mortgage Rates Actually Tick Up
McLEAN, Va.-Long-term mortgage rates, brushed off the effects of the Fed's cut in short-term interest rates, and rose slightly in the wake of the decision, the first such increase in 10 weeks, according to Freddie Mac.
The average for the benchmark 30-year, fixed-rate loan climbed to 5.24%, from 5.21% last week; while the average for the 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage increased to 4.63%, from 4.62%. The average for the one-year ARM continued its descent to record lows, falling to 3.45% this week, from 3.51% last week.
