NCUA used strong words - false, misleading, willful and malicious - to allege a scheme by former Western Corporate FCU officers Robert Siravo and Tom Swedberg to increase their Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan payouts.
"(Siravo and Swedberg) decided to propose amendments to the SERP plans that would (1) change the definition of "Final Compensation" to include all compensation, not just monthly base salary; and (2) increase the gross-up for taxes from 40% to 67%," NCUA said in the amended complaint filed yesterday in U.S. District Court.
Additionally, the two allegedly provided deliberately false information to directors when recommending the SERP changes, and "concealed material facts with the intent to defraud," the suit states.
Both Siravo and Swedberg are accused of fraud and breach of fiduciary duty as a result, with NCUA seeking more than $3 million for each claim. An additional breach of fiduciary duty claim against Siravo and a claim accusing former WesCorp Chief Financial Officer Todd Lane of unjust enrichment were also filed in connection with Lane's allegedly unauthorized $1.4 million early SERP payouts from 2006 to 2008.
