After the former president/CEO was dismissed last Augustfollowing a state-ordered conservatorship of the $589 millionAlabama One Credit Union, the Tuscaloosa, Ala., cooperativeannounced Wednesday that William (Bill) C. Wells II was named itsnew president/CEO.

Eight months ago, Wells took over the credit union as an “agentfor the conservator” managing the day-to-day operations. FormerAlabama One President/CEO John Dee Carruth and other formercredit union employees and board members were dismissed in August.They are suing the Alabama Credit Union Administration, the state'sregulator.

According to Alabama One's prepared statement, Wells has morethan 35 years of experience in the financial services industry. Inaddition to working 15 years as a financial regulator, he alsoworked as a chief risk officer for Regions Financial Corp., RegionsBank, AmSouth Bancorporation, AmSouth Bank, SouthTrust Corporationand SouthTrust Bank.

He also served as a commissioned national bank examiner with theOffice of the Comptroller of the Currency and as anexaminer-in-charge of multi-billion dollar regional bankinginstitutions.

Wells launched his career in 1980 as an auditor for FirstColumbus National Bank.

In a prepared statement, Wells said he was very excited to be apermanent member of the Alabama One team. He also said that the team members have madetremendous progress in the last eight months turning Alabama One inthe right direction.

“I am very proud of their strong commitment to the members thatAlabama One serves, their dedication to the area they work in andto each other, their can-do attitude and willingness to acceptchange, and above all – their smiles,” Wells said in a preparedstatement.

A few hours after Alabama One announced its new CEO, the AlabamaMedia Group reported that 108 acres holding a cabin, lodge, eventcenter, private lake and docks, which was owned by convicted bankfraud felon Danny Ray Butler, will be auctioned off in June.

The local news outlet also reported that the credit unionpurchased Butler's property through an auction in July 2015 for$1.26 million, about $3 million less than the mortgage Alabama Oneheld on the property.

The storm of controversies surrounding Alabama One began afterOctober 2013 when Butler, a long-time member and local businessman, was indictedby a federal grand jury.

In its 51-count indictment, the jury charged Butler(pictured) with defrauding the Small Business Administrationthrough a loan he had taken through West Alabama Bank and Trust,and kiting checks between West Alabama and Alabama One.

Butler pleaded guilty in February 2014 and was sentenced tothree years in federal prison in Talladega, Ala., in September2014.

But the credit union's problems did not stem from the checkkiting, something that could have cost the credit union roughly$1.2 million. Alabama One has always maintained that it did notsuffer a loss from the conspiracy.

Members raised questions about the credit union's relationshipwith Butler. They filed lawsuits over losses they said they hadsuffered because of loans they said the credit union had made forButler in their names.

There have been numerous lawsuits filed by members, employees,state regulators and others claiming fraud, a hostile workplaceenvironment, compliance and state law violations, conspiracy,breaches of fiduciary duties and the waste of corporate assets.

In April 2015, the ACUA and the NCUA filed a cease and desistorder to force the troubled credit union to replace its CEO, COOand chief lending officer.

The latest court documents were filed last month in an Alabamastate court by lawyers representing Carruth and other former creditunion employees. They are seeking court-ordered subpoenas to obtaindocuments that they said can prove the conservatorship of AlabamaOne Credit Union was the result of a political agenda.

The plaintiffs claim the pressure came directly from Alabama Governor Robert Bentley, his legal adviser David Byrneand Rebekah Caldwell Mason, a top political aide with whom Bentleyis alleged to have had an inappropriate relationship.

After the credit union was conserved in August 2015, it tookuntil the end of the first week of October before the dismissedemployees and board members were informed of the alleged groundsfor the ACUA's action, said Paul Toppins, one of the lawyersrepresenting Carruth and other credit union employees and boardmembers.

“At that time, the details and grounds were cloaked in aprotective order that prevents any petitioner from respondingpublicly to them,” Toppins said. “All we can say is that we expectto show they are trumped up, erroneous and completely withoutmerit. The position of the petitioners is that the conservationof AlabamaOne Credit Union was driven by an agenda that had littleor nothing to do with proper regulatory concerns.”