ROANOKE, Va.–The former CEO of FedStar FCU has been sentenced to 10 months in prison for an embezzlement that eventually caused the credit union to fail.
The judge chose not to impose a fine, saying it was more important for Kelly Given to make a $10,000 payment in restitution to the credit union’s insurance company.
Givens, 39, received the sentence from U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Dillon, who said Givens exploited the trust that had been put in her.
A ‘Betrayal’
“This was not some unknown mass of people, or some corporation,” the judge said. “The credit union was made up of its members. She had the significant trust of those members and the board. She betrayed that trust.”
According to the Roanoke Times, Dillon denied a request from prosecutors for enhanced sentencing guidelines, which would have increased Given’s punishment on the grounds that her related conduct caused the demise of FedStar, which was declared insolvent in 2021.
As CUToday.info reported here, in January of 2023 Givens pled guilty in federal court to charges related to her use of credit union funds for personal purchases from 2018 and 2020.
Purchases on Amazon
According to court documents, between 2018-20 she used the FedStar credit card and FedStar business Amazon account for personal purchases totaling more than $12,000. Givens purchased running shoes, hiking shoes, tickets for sporting events, and electronic devices, among other personal purchases, the court said.
But the defendant was responsible for far more than abuse of a company credit card, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristin Johnson argued, the Times reported.
“She is responsible for the failure of the FedStar credit union,” Johnson said, describing how Givens “had been cooking the books” for years to conceal her credit card transactions and protect her job by making it appear the credit union was in good financial health and growing.
FedStar was eventually merged into InFirst Federal Credit Union.
‘Woefully Unprepared’
Given’s attorneys, who argued other factors led to the CU’s failure, say she lacked a college degree or any formal training in accounting, making her “woefully unprepared for the job of CEO when she was promoted in 2016,” moving up from her starting position as a teller, the Roanoke Times reported.
In earlier testimony, Givens had said that part of her training for the job came from reading “Everything I Know About Business I Learned from the Grateful Dead.”
Ahead of sentencing, prosecutors noted Givens continued to embezzle after being caught, misled the credit union’s board and reported false information to NCUA, the Times reported.
Skee-Ball Machine Purchased
Some of the purchases Givens made that were thought to be personal were actually for the credit union, including a Skee-Ball machine and outfitting a children’s playroom for the office, high-end electronics like Apple iPods and Nintendo Switches for annual meeting door prizes, and charging thousands and thousands of dollars in food.
The Roanoke Times reported Given said to the judge, “I made a horrible mistake, and I am deeply ashamed and sorry. I am here to face the consequences.”
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