It took nearly three years for federal prosecutors to indict a former bookkeeper who allegedly stole $1.6 million from a credit union vault.

A federal grand jury in Milwaukee, Wis., indicted Melisa A. Beyer on Feb. 14 with one felony count of embezzlement and one felony count of a making a false statement.

The 37-year-old Oshkosh woman worked as a bookkeeper at the $28.2 million Oshkosh Central Credit Union.

Starting in January 2007 and through April 2014, Beyer allegedly stole the funds.

Beyer reported on a form that the vault money count was $2,058,115 when she allegedly knew that this overstated the amount of money in the vault by $1.6 million, according to the indictment.

In court documents, prosecutors do not explain how Beyer concealed her embezzlement for more than seven years.

In early May 2014, the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions launched an investigation that alleged substantial irregularities at the 3,432-member Oshkosh Central, which led to the suspension of its longtime president/CEO Mark Patchak and Beyer. The two were later fired.

Patchak has not been charged with any wrongdoing.

By September 2014, Oshkosh Central was merged into the $2.6 billion Community First Credit Union in Appleton, Wis.

The NCUA banned Beyer in September 2016. She consented to the issuance of a prohibition order and agreed to comply with all of its terms to settle and resolve the NCUA board’s claims against her. The federal agency did not specify those claims against Beyer.

Instant Insights /

CU Employee Indicted for $1.6 Million Embezzlement

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