LIMA, Ohio - A former credit union collections officer who went to an NCUA examiner with allegations of a scheme to mask delinquent loans filed suit against the federal regulator last week claiming he was fired after the examiner exposed his role to credit union management.
David McNett, a long-time credit union official who once headed British Petroleum Employees FCU, said he only agreed to provide information to NCUA of an alleged scheme to back-date loan due dates at Hardin Community FCU in exchange for being protected as the source.
But NcNett was fired less than two weeks after NCUA confronted credit union management with the allegations, according to McNett’s suit, filed in U.S. District Court.
McNett was hired by the credit union just two months before the firing to help get control over spiraling delinquencies, which had risen to 4.3%, or $1.8 million, but he soon realized someone was backdating due dates. McNett brough documents purporting to prove the back-dating scheme to the NCUA examiner at the examiner’s hotel room in August 2002.
McNett sued the credit union over his firing, but settled the case out of court because he could not prove they learned of his whistleblower role from the NCUA examiner. But after he settled the suit, McNett said he found out only last September that one of NCUA’s examiners had exposed him to credit union officials, resulting in McNett losing his job, according to the suit.
He is asking for $15 million in damages from NCUA.
NCUA officials would not comment on the case, saying they do not discuss cases during litigation.
