Two weeks after he pleaded guilty to bank fraud and attempted bank fraud, Sean Jelen filed a civil lawsuit claiming another credit union allegedly offered him a CEO job and then rescinded the offer after learning he had Crohn’s disease.

On July 15, the former president/CEO of the $231 million Valor Federal Credit Union admitted to committing a series of fraudulent schemes, including embezzling more than $700,000 from the Scranton, Pa.-based cooperative.

On July 29, Jelen’s lawyer filed a disability discrimination lawsuit against the $410 million Nassau Financial Federal Credit Union in Westbury, N.Y.

Jelen’s lawyer, Bradford D. Conover in New York City, said he wasn’t aware of Jelen’s guilty plea until after the lawsuit was filed, when he received a letter from Nassau Financial.

“I would think changes will be made,” Conover said. “As an attorney, I have an ethical obligation to represent a client. I also have an ethical obligation to do what’s right. I can’t simply withdraw a complaint without a client’s permission. I can withdraw as an attorney. So all of those ethical options are on the table and my client needs to let me know how he wants to proceed.”

Conover declined to make further comments.

In June 2015, Jelen applied for the president/CEO position at Nassau Financial.

On Aug. 19, 2015, the day he was fired from Valor, he learned the Nassau Financial board wanted to interview him on Sept. 18, 2015, according to the civil lawsuit.

Two days later, on Sept. 21, the credit union’s executive recruiter called Jelen and told him the interview went “exceedingly well” and that Jelen would receive an unconditional offer from the board of directors.

Later that day, however, the executive recruiter called Jelen back and questioned him about his employment with Valor.

Jelen told the recruiter that he had been out on disability leave since Aug. 19 for Crohn’s disease and was scheduled to undergo surgery by Oct. 1. Jelen was to start his new job in November.

The recruiter told Jelen to send an email to the board detailing his disability and medical leave from Valor, which he promptly supplied, according to the lawsuit.

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On Sept. 23, 2015, Jensen received an email from the recruiter informing him that the Nassau Financial board decided to go with other candidates.

“They have some concerns after reviewing the latest financial information from Valor,” the recruiter wrote in an email to Jelen.

Valor posted a net loss of $286,983 at the end of the second quarter of 2015 and a net loss of $73,696 at the end of the first quarter in March 2015, according to NCUA financial performance reports. And by the third quarter, in September 2015, the credit union recorded a net loss of $1.5 million. The credit union’s ROAA was -0.26% and -0.94% at the end of the second and third quarters of last year, respectively.

Jelen’s civil lawsuit claimed Nassau Financial’s purported concern about Valor’s financials was a “pretext for disability discrimination” and that the credit union violated the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 and the Executive Law of the State of New York.

Jelen’s lawsuit also alleged the Nassau Financial board violated state and federal laws when it declined to hire Jelen because of his disability without having first engaged in an interactive process. He is seeking monetary redress, compensation for loss of income, damages for mental and psychological pain and suffering, punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and costs, and permanent injunctive relief.

John T. DeCelle, president/CEO of Nassau Financial, did not return a call from CU Times seeking comment Thursday.

From July 2014 to August 2015, the 33-year-old Jelen embezzled $718,000 to pay for credit card bills, college tuition, his spouse’s birthday party and a golf tournament sponsorship. He also tried to steal $1.1 million by creating a forged severance contract before he was fired by the board.

About five months prior to his termination, Jelen rigged Valor’s board of directors’ election by electing an individual only identified in court documents as R.T. But Jelen did this without R.T.’s knowledge.

He also elected Suzanne Forrest to the board’s supervisory committee. However, Forrest did not exist. Jelen allegedly impersonated both Forrest and R.T. so that he could continue his fraud, according to court documents.

According to court documents, Jelen also agreed to forfeit a home at Breezy Point, a New York City borough of Queens at the western end of the Rockaway peninsula. New York’s Multiple Listings Service estimated that Jelen’s house at 37 Jamaica Walk is valued at $613,000.

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Instant Insights /

Embezzling CEO Sues Credit Union for Discrimination

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