Margurite M. Cofell denied most of the allegations by the NCUAthat she stole millions while she was the CEO of a the $51 millionSt, Francis Campus Credit Union in Little Falls, Minn., accordingto court documents her lawyers filed U.S. District Court in St.Paul on Monday.

However, Cofell acknowledged she drafted a written confessionabout how she carried out her embezzlement scheme.

An NCUA civil lawsuit alleged that the 60-year-old woman ofLittle Falls, Minn., embezzled $2.8 million over 15 years. However,Cofell allegedly began stealing from the credit union in themid-1990s, which led to a total loss that likely exceeded $10million, according to a forensic auditor's report filed withthe lawsuit.

“Cofell admits that there was an examination by the NCUA onJanuary 23, 2014 and that NCUA initiated an investigation at thatpoint,” Cofell's lawyers wrote in answering the NCUA's allegations.“Cofell lacks knowledge or information sufficient to form a beliefabout the truth of the allegation regarding the forensic report byLillie & Company.”

She also denied the NCUA's allegations of civil theft, fraud andmisrepresentation, unjust enrichment, conversion and failing toperform her fiduciary duty.

St. Francis Campus CU was closed by state regulators in February2014. At that time, the local police and the FBI launched aninvestigation but no charges have been brought against Cofell.In other cases in which credit unions have been closed afterembezzlement is uncovered, it may take several years for federalauthorities to file charges.

When the former CEO in 2014 admitted in writing after confrontedby NCUA examiners that she began her scheme 15 years ago, aforensic auditor, Lillie & Company in Sunbury, Ohio, hired bythe federal agency was only able to obtain complete transactionaldocumentation from 2011 to 2014 because Cofell allegedly destroyedthe data processing system's back up information prior to 2011.

“It appears as if Ms. Cofell was engaged in a scheme to defraudthe credit union from at least the mid-1990s up to the time atwhich when she was suspended on Jan. 23, 2014,” according to courtdocuments. “While Ms. Cofell purged much of the earlier financialdetail, member statements in connection with a number of fictitiousaccounts showed the existence of fictitious loans well in excess of$1 million as of 2000 thereby suggesting that the scheme had beenongoing for some time prior to 2000.”

In Cofell's answer to the NCUA's lawsuit, she acknowledged herwritten confession was drafted by her and that the “document speaksfor itself.”

Cofell allegedly fabricated loans under inactive or fictitiousmember accounts. The funds from these loans went into her ownaccount, her boyfriend's account and accounts of her familymembers.

Cofell admitted she added certain loans to inactive memberaccounts, but she denied funneling the loan funds to her ownaccount, her boyfriend's accounts of her family members, accordingto court documents.

To conceal the financial losses, Cofell allegedly manipulatedthe general ledger and other accounts to make it appear that cashdeposits of members were being converted to short-term investmentsof low interest rates to loans to members at higher interest rates.She also manipulated the books to hide delinquencies of fraudulentloans.

Cofell also denied these allegations.