ROANOKE, Va. -- A former branch manager for Freedom First CU was sentenced Tuesday to ten days in jail after she pleaded guilty to embezzlement for modifying existing loans held by her mother, father-in-law and a friend to draw money for her own use.

GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo. – Bellco CU has applied to state regulators to expand its field of membership to serve more than 500,000 people in Adams and Broomfield counties.

VIENNA, Va. – Navy FCU has implemented the latest release of the Verint System’s Vovici Enterprise Feedback Management solution.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – ESL FCU has introduced a new suite of prepaid gift and reloadable Visa debit card products, in conjunction with PSCU Financial Services.

JOHNSTON, Iowa – Community Choice CU is the latest credit union to bank on a growing anger over big banks with the roll out of a new ad campaign touting itself as the “Unbank.”

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – NCUA this afternoon approved the combination of Treasure State Corporate CU in Montana and Kansas Corporate CU, one of seven corporate mergers pending.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The former CEO of Arkansas Employees FCU was sentenced this afternoon to 26 months in prison for stealing $500,000 from a member which she used for her own investment.

PLANO, Texas – NCUA has awarded the remnants of WesCorp FCU, including computer systems and member accounts, to Catalyst Corporate FCU, formed by the recent merger of Southwest Corporate FCU and Georgia Corporate FCU.

MODESTO, Calif. – Valley First CU has signed with VINtek to implement the company’s electronic lien and title services to manage its automotive titles.

GROTON, Conn. -- Charter Oak FCU is opening its 12th branch at the Electric Boat campus, in New London, the building site for Navy submarines.

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Consumers CU is planning to open two branches in 2012, one in Kalamazoo and one in Mattawan.

ASHLAND, Ky. -- Ashland CU has contracted with COMPASS 4 CUs to provide it with regulatory compliance services.

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Nutmeg State FCU is looking for "super fans," who, if chosen, will be featured in a series of television commercials and a print campaign advertising the credit union.

SPOKANE, Wash. -- The boards of Horizon CU and Montana First CU have approved the combination of the two credit unions, giving Horizons its first entry into adjourning Montana.

RALEIGH, N.C. – State Employees’ CU, said its SECU Foundation, which has been funding a series of critical care hospices around the state, is donating $1 million to the latest project in Bolivia, N.C.

MOBILE, Ala. -- Prosecutors opened a trial Monday against a woman accused of helping her brother run a sophisticated fraud that helped obtain millions of dollars in fraudulent mortgages from First Educators CU in Birmingham and other lenders to finance condominium rehabs at the Gulf Shores resorts.

PLANO, Texas – ViewPoint Bank, known till five years ago as Community CU, announced this morning it is acquiring $500 million Highlands Bancshares in a deal that will both expand its branch network and replace its CEO Gary Base, the former credit union figure who is retiring after running the institution for 25 years.

TUKWILA, Wash. – BECU said yesterday it is discontinuing its mobile banking apps for Android and Blackberry smartphones at the end of this month as it transitions to a new third-party vendor.

WASHINGTON – The FDIC said today it approved the acquisition of Griffith (Indiana) Savings Bank by United FCU of St. Joseph, Mich., the first bank to be acquired by a credit union.

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa Community CU announced this morning it is the latest victim of market economics, forcing it to close its branches on the University’s campus and the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics as the credit union declined to participate in competitive bidding for renewal of the five-year leases.