ALEXANDRIA, Va.– NCUA issued two prohibition orders and a cease-and-desist order in June.
The individuals prohibited from participating in the affairs of any federally insured financial institution include:
- Carolin Lopez, a former employee of 1st Bergen Federal Credit Union, Hackensack, N.J, agreed and consented to the issuance of a prohibition order and agreed to comply with all its terms to settle and resolve the NCUA Board’s claim against her.
- Stephanie Simontacchi, a former employee of Redwood Credit Union, Santa Rosa, Calif., agreed and consented to the issuance of a prohibition order and agreed to comply with all its terms to settle and resolve the NCUA Board’s claim against her.
- In June of 2021, a federal grand jury indicted Simontacchi on charges of bank fraud, embezzlement, and tax evasion in connection with schemes to use her access as an accountant to enrich herself at the expense of two former employers. Prosecutors said Simontacchi, was employed as a bookkeeper and assistant controller with Cavallo Point Lodge, a hotel near Sausalito, Calif., from December 2009 through April 2016, where she had ccess to her employer’s accounting records and accounting systems, as well as signatory authority over Cavallo Point Lodge’s bank accounts. The indictment alleges that Simontacchi embezzled funds from her employer by stealing accounts receivable checks that had been sent to Cavallo Point Lodge from third parties and depositing the checks into her personal bank accounts and that she embezzled at least $384,363.28 from, or owed to, Cavallo Point Lodge and deposited these stolen funds into her own accounts.
- In addition, the indictment alleged Simontacchi, while employed by Redwood Credit Union from April 2016 through April 2019, embezzled more than $437,000 from the credit union. Redwood CU employed Simontacchi as a senior accountant and accounting manager. According to the indictment, Simontacchi’s responsibilities included processing voided official checks (also known as cashier’s checks) and communicating with Redwood Credit Union’s official check vendor regarding issues pertaining to the funding and voiding of these checks. Simontacchi also had access to checks intended for and made payable to Redwood Credit Union that were sent to the accounting department for processing, including reimbursement checks from the official check vendor and reimbursement checks from the United States Treasury Department and the State of California. The indictment alleged Simontacchi embezzled some of these checks, as well as official checks that had been returned to Redwood Credit Union by members and were supposed to have been voided, then deposited the checks into her personal bank accounts. She used the embezzled proceeds for personal expenses, including to make a payment towards her home equity line of credit.
Order to Cease and Desist
- Inter-American Federal Credit Union, Brooklyn, N.Y., agreed and consented to the issuance of a cease-and-desist order to address certain supervisory concerns raised by the NCUA’s Eastern Regional Office.