JACKSON, Miss. — Former Jackson Area Federal Credit Union President and CEO Leigh Bridges has invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination at least 16 times in responding to the NCUA’s $95-million civil lawsuit, the clearest indication yet of how an expected federal criminal case is beginning to reshape the agency’s effort to recover the missing funds, according to WLBT.
Bridges invoked the Fifth in a response filed this week to allegations ranging from misappropriation of JAFCU funds and fraudulent financial statements to conversion, breach of fiduciary duty and fraudulent transfers, WLBT reported. She also declined to answer allegations involving her husband, Chad Bridges, and former branch manager Tina Funez to the extent those claims could implicate her. The filing comes days after Bridges asked U.S. District Judge Daniel Jordan to stay the NCUA lawsuit because of a pending criminal case. The court has not yet ruled on that request.
As CUToday.info previously reported, Bridges’ attorneys disclosed in an Aug. 11 filing that they had met with assistant U.S. attorneys conducting a criminal investigation and were told charges “will be filed shortly.” Her attorneys said prosecutors intend to proceed through a Bill of Information under federal statutes involving misapplication of credit union funds, false entries and tax violations. WLBT reported that as of Monday afternoon, no criminal case against Bridges was listed on the U.S. District Court’s website.
The Fifth Amendment response also puts into practice the conflict Bridges’ attorneys cited in seeking a stay: continuing to defend the NCUA lawsuit could require her to provide information potentially relevant to the expected criminal proceeding. The NCUA alleges Bridges, who worked at JAFCU for approximately 30 years and served as CEO from 2021 to 2026, had for years transferred money from the credit union’s ledgers into personal share accounts, according to WLBT and federal court records cited by the station.
The alleged scheme began drawing scrutiny after the NCUA spotted a JAFCU wire transfer to Tiffany & Co. and asked Corporate America Credit Union to investigate anomalies in 2024, WLBT reported. Corporate America subsequently identified at least 16 “anomalous or unusual” wire transfers between May 2021 and June 3, 2024, along with multiple checks presented for payment on Bridges’ account between 2019 and 2026. Investigators allege that after scrutiny of the transactions began, Leigh Bridges started transferring funds into accounts belonging to her husband.
Chad Bridges, a former Mississippi Department of Insurance employee, has taken a different approach. In an Aug. 11 answer, he denied most of the allegations and maintained he was a “mere title holder” on his share accounts who “did not exercise dominion or control” over them, WLBT reported. As CUToday.info previously reported, he has characterized himself as an innocent owner who did not know of or participate in the alleged misconduct. Funez was added as a defendant after the NCUA initially sued Leigh and Chad Bridges.
The stakes extend well beyond the defendants. As CUToday.info has reported, the NCUA alleges approximately $95 million was diverted through fraudulent transactions, false accounting entries and transfers that financed luxury vehicles, jewelry, designer goods, real estate and other spending. The agency placed Jackson Area FCU into conservatorship May 6, 2026, and has obtained freezes on assets as it seeks recovery. The credit union’s June 30 Call Report subsequently revealed a $103-million year-to-date loss, with assets plunging from $162.4 million at year-end to $60.9 million and net worth falling to negative $88.5 million. The next pivotal developments are now Judge Jordan’s decision on whether to halt the civil case and the expected filing of federal criminal charges against Bridges.