Two former credit union employees were permanently barred from any future work in federally insured financial institutions under consent prohibition orders announced this week by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA).
The individuals – Jose Prado-Valero, formerly with Financial Center First Credit Union in Indianapolis, Ind., and Tracy H. Thibodeau, formerly with Vermont VA Federal Credit Union in White River Junction, Vt. – who had both pled guilty to bank fraud, were prohibited under orders issued in July, the NCUA said Wednesday.
According to the orders:
- Jose Prado-Valero, the former automated clearing house coordinator of Financial Center First CU, between February and August 2019 used his access to member accounts to obtain members’ personally identifiable information and account balances and provided the personally identifiable information to non-member individuals (who withdrew members’ funds) in exchange for a portion of the proceeds of the fraud. “Respondent’s fraudulent activities caused FCFCU significant financial loss,” it said. It also said Prado-Valero pleaded guilty April 12 in the United States District Court Southern District of Indiana to a one-count information.
- Tracy H. Thibodeau, a former member service representative and then branch manager at Vermont VA FCU, during the period from June 17, 2015, to April 29, 2022, fraudulently obtained a personal Vermont VA FCU credit card and exempted herself from credit limits, late fees, interest payments, and making minimum monthly payments against the account balance. Her misuse of the card and concealment of it defrauded the credit union of $137,170. The agency said Thibodeau pleaded guilty to bank fraud.