TOPEKA, Kan.-- Mark E. Kasson, former CEO of the Credit Union Group Credit Union here has taken a plea deal after being charged with making false entries to the CU's records just before a state and NCUA exam was to take place.
Kasson, 38, of Lawrence, appeared before Senior Judge Sam Crow in a U.S. District Court in Topeka on May 23, two weeks after being charged. He admitted falsifying the credit union's books to show that $3 million in loans had been sold to other credit unions. The participations never took place and court records show that Kasson made the entries on Jan. 10, 2006 "with the intent to deceive auditors and examiners of the Credit Union Group, the Kansas Department of Credit Unions and the NCUA." He led the CU until March 2006.
Kasson is free on $50,000 bond, but will be sentenced on Aug. 2. The penalty for violation of Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 1006 is not more than 30 years in federal prison and up to $1 million in fines. Because of the plea deal Kasson is likely to get much less than that, however. But he agreed to never work in a financial institution without government approval. Kasson's motivations remain a mystery.
The Kansas Department of Credit Unions placed the CU into conservatorship, which has since been released. During the turnaround Christine Dawe has managed the CU.
