A former Pennsylvania credit union assistant manager agreed to plead guilty this month to aiding bank fraud, and to cooperate with federal prosecutors to provide information concerning the unlawful activities of others.
Amanda Magda became the fourth of five defendants to plead guilty in a $45,000 fraud and conspiracy scheme at the $38 million Wilkes-Barre City Employees Federal Credit Union in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. In exchange for her guilty plea and cooperation, prosecutors dropped a fraud charge against Magda. Prosecutors also are expected to recommend a lighter sentence based on her cooperation. Court documents did not state whether Magda's information would lead to additional indictments against other individuals. She signed her plea deal on May 6, but it was not filed in court until June 16.
Magda's plea hearing is set for July 13 in U.S. District Court in Wilkes-Barre. She is expected to admit that she fraudulently signed her name as a witness to the signature of another credit union member who did not sign the loan documents to assist Tino Ninotti in securing a $25,000 loan from the credit union.
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Ninotti, a retired police officer for the Wilkes-Barre, Pa. police department, and Jason Anthony, a former Wilkes-Barre city police officer, both pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to commit bank fraud in April.
Credit union member Jeffrey Serafin was the first of five defendants to plead guilty in January to one count of bank fraud. He admitted to using an individual's name to fraudulently obtain a $10,000 loan, court documents showed.
Serafin was sentenced in May to time served and three years of supervised release. He also was ordered to pay restitution of $11,578.
The fifth defendant, Leo Glodzik, a former city contractor and credit union member, was charged with two counts of bank fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of witness tampering. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
All five defendants were originally indicted in August 2014, five months after Manager Jim Payne fatally shot himself at his Bear Creek, Pa., home in March 2014. At that time, public reports surfaced that he was potentially being targeted in an FBI investigation.
Soon after Payne committed suicide in March, Carrie Adamowski, an FBI spokesperson in Philadelphia, confirmed to CU Times that Sean Quinn, director of the FBI's Scranton office, said to the local media that he "considered the credit union as a witness and a victim in an ongoing criminal investigation. Individual employees of the credit union were potential targets of the investigation."
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Peter Strozniak
Credit Union Times reporter covering credit union operations, fraud, M&As, leagues, business continuity, and breaking news.
