CLEVELAND, Ohio—Two more people have been convicted for fraud related to the failure of the $24-million Taupa Lithuanian Credit Union.
The latest to be sentenced to federal prison were Gary Chaney (sentenced to 37 months) and Patrick Bruckman (sentenced to two years), the former co-owners of Network Systems Engineering here. The men pleaded guilty to conspiring with former TLCU CEO Alex Spirikaitis to defraud the credit union of almost $1.9 million between 2007 and 2013. Under the scheme, Chaney and Bruckman wrote checks on personal and corporate accounts for which there were insufficient funds, and Spirikaitis allowed the checks to clear.
The funds typically went to a consulting firm that provided funds to Taupa Lithuanian. Taupa Lithuanian was put into receivership by NCUA in 2013. Six people have been convicted of fraud related to the CU’s failure, including Spirikaitis, who is serving a 10-year term.