There were 15 credit unions that the NCUA liquidated or assistedin their being purchased in 2011, but only one involved Internetgambling and litigation.

In July, the NCUA liquidated the $8.1 million Vensure Federal Credit Union, which made most of its money byprocessing transactions for Internet poker sites.

The agency conserved the credit union earlier in the year after the owner of its largestdeposit account, the Trinity Global Commerce Corp., was seized bythe government as part of a crackdown and closure of major onlinepoker sites. Then Vensure sued the agency to fight theconservatorship and liquidation, though a judge ruled in a favor ofthe agency.

The question over the legality of online poker and transactingpayments for online poker largely muddled the court proceedings,with the CU arguing that it had provided the agency with many legalopinions justifying the legality of processing online pokertransactions and that it had complied with the agency's order tocease and desist from them.

The agency countered that it had not done so fast enough andremained at risk. The largest cost to the NCUSIF ($21.1 million)came after the agency liquidated the $119 million Family FirstFCU of Orem, Utah and its assets, liabilities and members werepurchased and assumed by Security Service FCU of San Antonio.

The second largest hit to the NCUSIF ($13.5 million) came afterWestern Federal Credit Union purchased and assumed the assets ofthe $88 million Oakland Municipal Credit Union after the NCUA wasnamed Oakland Municipal's liquidating agent.

Other large losses to the NCUSIF were from Borinquen FCU, $5.1 million; Hmong American FCU, $1.6 million; and Utah Central CU, $1.3 million.