Credit Union Manager Cops to $175K Embezzlement in Kansas

In U.S. District Court in Topeka, Kan., former credit union manager Karolyn J. Stattelman pleaded guilty Tuesday to theft of credit union funds, admitting she embezzled $93,500.

Stattelman, 42, of Topeka, manipulated accounts at the merged $1.5 million Jayhawk FCU in Lawrence for money orders, share drafts, ATM and returned checks to conceal her theft, according to federal prosecutors at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Topeka.

Earlier this year, because of Jayhawk FCU’s poor financial condition, the NCUA approved the cooperative’s consolidation with the $226 million Mid American Credit Union in Wichita.

The 1,092-member credit union posted a net worth of -5% as of Dec. 31, 2013, compared to a peer average of 18%, according to NCUA financial performance reports.

Last year, Jayhawk FCU reported a net loss of $260,047. Though the credit union posted a net gain of $1,692 in 2012 and $1,684 in 2011, it reported net losses to the NCUA of $68,461 in 2010 and $42,409 in 2009.

Stattelman also admitted to allowing a teller steal $81,000 from the credit union, federal prosecutors said.

The teller, Christi Marie Hout, 38, of Lawrence, pleaded guilty last week in U.S. District Court in Topeka to one count of theft of credit union funds.

In her plea, Hout admitted to writing checks on her personal account and her husband’s business account, and then posting ATM debits when there were insufficient funds in the accounts to cover the transactions, according to federal prosecutors.

Hout used credit union funds to pay personal expenses, and admitted she Stattelman was covering up the thefts, federal prosecutors said.

Sentencing hearings have yet to be scheduled for Stattelman and Hout, federal prosecutors said. They each face a maximum of 30 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $1 million.