Lafayette Compliance Officer Resigns; Alleges Serious Problems with CU's BSA Compliance

KENSINGTON, Md. — The resignation of Lawrence Hart, the chief compliance officer for the $319 million Lafayette Federal Credit Union, and the allegations Hart has made in the wake of that resignation have cast doubt on whether the Office of Thrift Supervision would have ever approved the credit union’s application to convert to a mutual bank charter without the CU having made significant changes to its operations.

In his resignation letter Hart, who is a decorated former investigator for the U.S. treasury department with over 25 years experience, said he was leaving because of senior management’s “failure to actively implement the requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act” and alleged that management acted to obstruct NCUA’s examination of the CU which took place during the weeks of April 2 and April 9.