NCUA Says Ex-JAFCU CEO Tried To Convert Up To $200K In Points After Asset Freeze
By CU Today Staff —
JACKSON, Miss.—The NCUA is seeking tighter restrictions on the frozen assets of former Jackson Area Federal Credit Union CEO Leigh Bridges and two other defendants, alleging Bridges attempted to convert as much as $200,000 in credit-card reward points into gift cards after she was served with a court order freezing her property.
In a new filing in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, the NCUA board said Bridges attempted between June 1 and June 18 to redeem points for as much as $200,000 in cash-equivalent gift cards, but the effort was initially blocked by a fraud alert. The agency said she ultimately redeemed at least $32,750 in points for gift cards after May 29, including $12,000 the day after she was served with the temporary restraining order, and had spent at least $17,714.95 of those cards by Aug. 19. The NCUA said it did not learn of the redemptions until reviewing information obtained from American Express and was not notified by Bridges until Aug. 12.
The agency also alleges Chad Bridges, Leigh Bridges’ husband, attempted without notifying the NCUA to cash out 240 hours of accrued leave from his former employer, the Mississippi Department of Insurance, worth $14,865.60. The NCUA is asking U.S. District Judge Daniel Jordan to clarify that gift cards, credit card points and accrued leave are property covered by the asset freeze and to require the Bridges to turn over gift cards and redeem remaining reward points so the proceeds can be held in trust. The agency said Leigh Bridges still held $15,035.05 in gift cards and Chad Bridges $10,384.01, according to information provided to the NCUA.
The motion goes further, asking Jordan to bar Bridges, Chad Bridges and former JAFCU branch manager Tina Funez from using frozen assets for living expenses until they demonstrate the money is necessary, require an accounting of past and future income and spending, and require reimbursement if other assets are eventually released. The NCUA said it has not received financial statements documenting Leigh or Chad Bridges’ expenditures and has received incomplete information from Funez.
The NCUA is also asking the defendants to identify property worth more than $100 that was taken to a residence on the island of Utila, Honduras, after alleging the three traveled there following Leigh Bridges’ April admission that she had misappropriated funds. The latest filing follows CUToday.info’s Sept. 8 report that the NCUA was opposing Chad Bridges’ attempt to gain access to frozen retirement accounts and detailed spending on private jets, luxury goods and an $88,000 watch. The court has frozen the defendants’ assets while the NCUA pursues its civil case alleging approximately $95 million was misappropriated from JAFCU.
Jordan convened attorneys for the NCUA and all three defendants Tuesday for a status conference in the case.
Originally reported by CU Today.