Municipal Credit Union

Municipal Credit Union (MCU) is a state chartered credit union headquartered in New York City, regulated under the authority of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). MCU is metro New York's largest credit union. As of 2018, MCU had $2.68 billion in assets.[1] It has approximately 425,000 members and 18 branches.[2][3]

Municipal Credit Union
TypeCredit union
IndustryFinancial services
Founded1916
HeadquartersNew York City, New York, United States
Key people
Kyle Markland, President/CEO
ProductsSavings; checking; consumer loans; mortgages; credit cards; online banking
Total assets$2.68B USD (2018)
Number of employees
568
Websitenymcu.org

History

Municipal Credit Union was founded in 1916 for municipal workers in New York City. John Purroy Mitchel, New York City's Mayor at the time, wanted city employees to have alternatives to loan sharks and encouraged the chartering of the organization.

On November 2, 1977, the New York State Banking Department took over MCU for a brief time, citing loan delinquencies and corruption of Board members.[4]

In 1986, following the collapse of Hyfin Credit Union amidst charges of fraud and embezzlement, Hyfin was merged with Municipal Credit Union.[5]

A computer error in 2001 after the September 11 attacks allowed credit union members to withdraw amounts in excess of their accounts. In the month following the attacks, $15 million was stolen from MCU ATMs by its own members.[6] 118 members were charged in the thefts.[7]

CEO Kam Wong was placed on leave in February 2018 and arrested for embezzlement and fraud later that year in May when the credit union was placed in conservatorship.[8][3][1] For at least five years, Wong had been participating in insurance fraud and cash embezzlement through MCU's ATMs, and spent millions of dollars of this cash on lottery tickets. [9][10]

On November 19, 2018 Kam Wong, pled guilty in Manhattan federal court to embezzling millions of dollars from the Credit Union and was sentenced to five and a half years in prison.[11][12]

MCU was released from conservatorship in February 2022.[13]

References
  1. Hennelly, Bob. "Longtime Head of MCU Charged With Stealing Millions From Coffers (Free Article)". The Chief. Retrieved 2018-06-14.
  2. MCU 2016 Annual Report. Municipal Credit Union Official Website.
  3. "Municipal Credit Union Board Terminates Kam Wong". www.nymcu.org. 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-06-14.
  4. Perlmutter, Emanuel. New York State Is Taking Over Municipal Credit Union in the City. New York Times. 3 November 1977.
  5. Buder, Leonard. 7th Suit to Recover Hyfin Funds Is Filed. New York Times. 18 October 1987.
  6. Saulny, Susan. Credit Union Says A.T.M. Users Stole Millions After 9/11. New York Times. 6 August 2002.
  7. Saulny, Susan. 118 Charged in A.T.M. Thefts After 9/11. New York Times. 19 June 2003.
  8. Strozniak, Peter; PM, 2020 at 04:18 (2020-01-29). "Losses & Troubles for Beleaguered Municipal Credit Union Continue to Mount". Retrieved 2022-06-22.
  9. Blau, Reuven (2018-05-08). "Municipal Credit Union chief accused of embezzling money from fund, spending $3.55M on lottery tickets - NY Daily News". nydailynews.com. Retrieved 2018-06-14.
  10. Elstein, Aaron. "CEO of Municipal Credit Union charged with fraud, embezzlement". Crain's New York Business. Retrieved 2018-06-15.
  11. US Department of Justice, AOSDNY. "Former Chief Executive Officer Of New York Credit Union Pleads Guilty In Manhattan Federal Court To Multimillion-Dollar Embezzlement". Department of Justice U.S. Attorney’s Office Southern District of New York. Retrieved 2019-01-08.
  12. Grant, Jason (2019-06-05). "How Judge Found 'Middle Ground' Sentence for Kam Wong". Retrieved 2022-06-22.
  13. "Control of Municipal Credit Union Returned to Members" (Press release). Retrieved 2022-06-21.
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