Ismail Elmas A former investment adviser for Apple Financial Services admitted Tuesday that he bilked more than 10 longtime credit union members out of millions.

Ismail Elmas, 49, of Vienna, Va., pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va.

Elmas' fraud was detected during a routine internal audit at AFS, an affiliate of the $1.9 billion Apple Federal Credit Union.

AFCU contacted federal authorities, launching a criminal investigation, Robert Sowell Sr., vice president of community relations for the Fairfax-based AFCU, said.

“It is an ongoing investigation and we certainly are working with federal authorities, including the insurance company and broker-dealer throughout this particular process,” Sowell said. “We've identified the members who have been affected and have been in constant communication with them throughout this process and will continue to do so. We will do our best by each one of our members and we will work to make each one of them whole.”

Losses are estimated to be between $1 million and $7 million.

Read more: Scheme ensnares Navy Federal account …

According to court documents, Elmas began working at AFS in October 2007, but he didn't start stealing members' money until 2012, when he began targeting widows and their retirement funds. His fraud scheme continued through July 2014 when he was fired following the audit's findings, Sowell said.

Court documents detailed how Elmas carried out his fraud.

J.H., as identified in court documents, and her husband were longtime members of AFCU and clients of Elmas. After J.H.'s husband died on Christmas Day 2012, she worked with Elmas to consolidate her finances.

When J.H. approached Elmas about using $90,000 to pay off her mortgage, he advised her to invest that money in I.E. Financial Solutions, a sham investment company that was simply a Navy Federal Credit Union account Elmas controlled, court papers showed.

With another longtime member identified as C.S., a Fairfax County public schools teacher aide, Elmas advised her to move more than $100,000 in a AFCU retirement fund and transfer it to new certificate of deposit called I.E. Financial Solutions. Elmas told C.S., whose husband died in 2009, that the CD would result in better interest returns and would be more stable, according to court documents.

A sentencing hearing for Elmas has not been scheduled yet. He was released on a $25,000 bond, according to court documents.

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Credit Union Investment Adviser Steals Millions

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