Charlene M. Pickhinke, a former MetaBank employee, who pled guilty in July 2009 in a case involving $4 million in stolen CD deposits from credit unions and others, is scheduled to be sentenced this month.

A bank employee for 28 years, Pickhinke admitted that from 1995 to 2008 she sold more than 40 fake CDs while employed at MetaBank. She also admitted to opening two bank accounts using the names and Social Security numbers of deceased bank customers and used the accounts to launder funds. Pickhinke pleaded guilty to money laundering, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and making false statements on a bank's records, according to the United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Iowa.

Guardian Angel Credit Union, Coreplus Federal Credit Union, Hamilton Federal Credit Union and East Idaho Credit Union are among the financial institutions that filed a lawsuit against MetaBank and Meta Financial Group.

On May 5, a court granted the $40 million Guardian Angel in Berlin, N.H. a motion to certify the class action suit, according to May 14 SEC documents filed by MetaBank.

The case with $193 million Coreplus FCU was voluntarily dismissed, according to SEC documents filed by MetaBank. The last update involving the $27 million Hamilton Federal Credit Union in Novato, Calif. involved seeking a class action status on the case. The $233 million East Idaho Credit Union had also filed suit.