Expensive jewelry, designer handbags, a Tesla, private jet travels and a house on a small island in the Caribbean Sea were some of the benefits that Tina Funez enjoyed courtesy of her best friend Leigh Bridges, former president/CEO of Mississippi's Jackson Area Federal Credit Union.
Funez, a former branch manager at the $71.3 million Jackson Area, was added as a third defendant along with Bridges and her husband Chad Bridges in an amended $95 million fraud lawsuit filed Monday by the NCUA in federal court in Jackson, Miss.
The federal agency initially filed a civil lawsuit on May 14 against Leigh and Chad Bridges, which alleged from 2014 to 2026, the former CEO moved more than $51 million from the credit union's general ledger and transferred those funds to her share accounts and her husband's share accounts. She created false accounting entries to conceal the missing funds. The federal agency conserved Jackson Area on May 6 for unsafe and unsound practices.
The amended complaint and its accompanying court documents showed Leigh Bridges spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy Funez high-end jewelry, 40 designer handbags (each worth $2,000), a 2023 Tesla Model Y and a Rolex watch that was a gift from Chad Bridges.
Chad Bridges was placed on administrative leave from his position as director of financial and market regulation at Mississippi's Insurance Department, pending an investigation, a spokesperson said.
These revelations and more of them were detailed in a six-page sworn statement filed by Bruce R. Hegyi, a former senior trial attorney with the NCUA's Office of General Counsel. Currently, he is Of Counsel with Collins & Hunter, a Denver-based law firm retained by the NCUA to investigate and, if warranted, pursue a fidelity bond claim on behalf of Jackson Area.
In a sworn declaration filed with the NCUA's amended complaint, Hegyi said he has been interviewing various current and/or former Jackson Area employees, officers, supervisory committee members and board members.
On May 15, Hegyi and Patrice Collins, owner of Collins & Hunter, interviewed Funez for more than two hours at Jackson Area's main office. Hegyi said Funez willingly participated in the interview and understood the purpose of it.
Funez said she first met Leigh Bridges at a fan club event in Los Angeles in the early 2000s. They developed a friendship, became "best friends" and are "almost like sisters," according to Hegyi. The Bridges invited Funez to Mississippi and she permanently relocated there after that first visit.
She joined Jackson Area in 2006 and was promoted to branch manager in 2023.
Funez initially lived in a "cottage" on the grounds of a prior residence of Leigh and Chad Bridges. She then rented a townhouse owned by the Bridges on Eastbrooke Street in Jackson beginning in 2019 and paid $500 a month in rent starting in 2019. She currently lives there, according to Hegyi.
About a decade ago, Leigh Bridges provided Funez with an American Express card linked to the former CEO's American Express card. Under this account, Funez was authorized to make purchases. Between 2021 and 2025, Funez racked up more than $508,000 in charges on the credit card, which was paid by Bridges.
"Tina Funez said she has taken multiple vacations and/or trips with Leigh Bridges; and that Ms. Bridges paid for all of the travel expenses for those vacations/trips, which included (among other things) paying for the chartering of private airplanes and/or jets on various occasions," Hegyi said.
What's more, Funez said Bridges assisted her in purchasing a single-family dwelling in Utila, Honduras, which once was owned by Funez's grandmother. Utila is a small Caribbean island that is part of the Bay Islands of Honduras in Central America.
"During the interview, Ms. Funez was shown various JAFCU wire transfer sheets for payment that appear to be related to the Utila Dwelling," Hegyi said. "Ms. Funez identified a $190,000 wire transfer and said it was for the purchase of the Utila Dwelling."
She also identified a series of about 16 selected Jackson Area wire transfers, each in the amount of $9,500, to a Honduran contractor. Funez said all of the funds for the purchase of the Utila Dwelling and its renovations were provided by Leigh Bridges.
According to Hegyi's sworn statement, Funez said she did not have personal knowledge of the source of funds used by Leigh Bridges and never inquired about where the money came from.
The NCUA also filed a motion for a preliminary injunction against Funez. If granted, the preliminary injunction would safeguard any funds, assets and properties she received from Bridges, pending the outcome of the civil lawsuit.
READ MORE: NCUA's Amended Complaint and Bruce Hegyi's Sworn Statement.
Peter Strozniak can be reached at peter.strozniak@arc-network.com.
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