A 65-year-old Orlando, Fla. man will be sentenced in September after he admitted to operating a Swedish-based credit union to swindle more than $17 million from 400 investors, according to federal prosecutors.

Samuel J. Cusumano Jr. pleaded guilty June 24 to wire fraud.

During his plea hearing, Cusumano admitted that between 2007 and 2009, as board chair of Storehouse Credit Union, he promoted the international credit union as a high yield investment opportunity through misleading presentations and materials.

Using the credit union's website, he fraudulently induced investors from across the U.S., including Florida, Canada, Great Britain and Australia, to transfer funds to investment accounts under Cusumano's control by misrepresenting the rates of return generated by the financial institution, federal prosecutors said.

Cusumano claimed that Storehouse CU used professional currency traders when, in fact, he personally executed all trades from his Orlando home, investing primarily in the Foreign Currency Exchange Market.

Although the financial institution was losing money, Cusumano produced fraudulent financial statements to convince investors that Storehouse CU was reaching or exceeding the high rates of return that were promised to them.

He promised investors their accounts would earn monthly returns of more than 5%.

But when investors discovered they were unable to withdraw their funds due to trading losses, a financial audit was conducted.

The audit revealed that investor funds had been depleted, earnings had been overstated and Cusumano had used a large portion of investors' funds to pay personal expenses, according to court documents.

Cusumano faces up to 20 years in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Sept. 22 in U.S. District Court in Gainesville, Fla.

Instant Insights /

Credit Union Board Chair Swindles $17 Million

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