EASLEY, S.C.–Crimes related to the now-defunct Taupa Lithuanian Credit Union continue to be felt three years later and several states away from its Cleveland headquarters.
In the latest development, the credit union has been identified as providing funding that was part of a scam in South Carolina known as the Ronnie Wilson-Atlantic Bullion & Coin Co. Ponzi scheme, which was discovered in 2012 and operated by Wilson.
John Struna of Concord Township, Ohio, who is currently doing a 43-month jail term related to $2-million in fraud at Taupa Lithuanian Credit Union, invested $100,000 in the Ponzi scheme, which was related to silver. NCUA is now seeking to recover that $100,000 invested in Atlantic Bullion & Coin, according to GSABusiness.com. Those same funds are being claimed by investors in the Ponzi scheme, which took more than $71 million from investors in 26 states.
U.S. District Judge J. Michelle Childs has ordered the $100,000 held in escrow until the dispute is resolved, according to GSABusiness.com.
A court filing by parties seeking to recover funds in the Ponzi scheme states that if the National Credit Union Administration gets the entire $100,000, “it would be unjustly enriched,” and moreover as the liquidating agent NCUA does not have “clean hands” and is not entitled to the full amount.
NCUA has responded by calling those allegations “erroneous.”
NCUA’s Material Loss Review following the failure of Taupa Lithuanian found the CU, which had just $24-million in assets at the time it was liquidated, caused a $33-million loss to the NCUSIF.