The recent indictment of a real estate developer that allegedlyobtained loans under false circumstances has brought Denali AlaskanFederal Credit Union some relief.

Lee Baker Jr. has been charged with 14 counts including fraudand money laundering for allegedly making false statement to secureloans from the $444 million credit union in Anchorage. He is facinga maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

Denali Alaskan had a separate civil legal action involvingBaker and his company, Discovery Construction, which was settledpreviously, according to Bob Teachworth, president/CEO of thecredit union.

“Denali Alaskan supports the action taken by the U.S. Attorney'soffice. The office, after their research, has determined they alsohave a case against Mr. Baker and we will certainly follow thiscase as it now goes through the court system,” Teachworth wrote ina statement to Credit Union Times.

Baker allegedly made several transactions through Denali Alaskan in Anchorage dating back to 2005 to fund severalcondominium units. To obtain the loans, the U.S. Attorney's Officesaid Baker transferred property from his company to himself andthen back to his company.

After the sale back to Discovery Construction, Baker told DenaliAlaskan that a $1.4 million deal went through and obtainedfinancing from the credit union. However, he allegedly used thefunds received from Denali Alaskan to reduce his shareholder debtto his construction company.

In another condo deal, Baker also allegedly lied to the creditunion after drawing down proceeds of a $9.2 million loan for anAnchorage apartment project. He ended up defaulting on the loan,the indictment noted.