NCUA headquarters, Washington, D.C. Credit/NCUA
A former credit union leader for 28 years and a former head teller who allegedly stole a combined $1,790,000 from their credit unions have been permanently barred from working at any federally insured financial institution, the NCUA said Friday.
While Michele Spanbauer was president/CEO of the $6.3 million Oshkosh Postal Employees Credit Union (OPECU) from December 1997 to March 2025, she allegedly stole more than $1.7 million by creating fictitious loans and then altering credit union records to conceal her misconduct, according to the federal agency.
The alleged theft came to light in May 2025 when OPECU was in the process of merging with the $6.2 billion Community First Credit Union in Neenah, Wis.
The NCUA approved the merger in the second quarter because of OPECU’s poor financial condition. However, a review of the credit union’s financial performance reports showed no financial losses, except for 2014 when the credit union posted a loss of $15,203, and four-figure losses in 2008, 2009 and 2010. OPECU recorded a net worth of 9.70% at the end of the first quarter of this year.
Spanbauer neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing, the NCUA prohibition order showed.
While Jennifer Tatman was working as a head teller and as a loan manager at the $21.6 million Allied Plastics Federal Credit union (APFCU) in Zachery, La., she allegedly stole more than $75,000 from its vault, according to the NCUA.
During her employment from October 2018 to February 2022, she also allegedly issued loans and credit cards to family members in violation of the credit union’s lending policies.
In January 2022, APFCU began investigating Tatman. An audit determined her alleged misconduct totaled to more than $90,000 in losses, according to the NCUA.
She did not admit or deny any wrongdoing.
Last year, APFCU merged with the $66.4 million GP Louisiana Federal Credit Union, also based in Zachery. At the end of the first quarter in 2024, APFCU posted a loss of $838,364, according to NCUA financial performance reports.
Peter Strozniak can be reached at pstrozniak@cutimes.com.
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