The former CEO of Valley State Credit Union in Saginaw has pleaded guilty to 13 felonies. Stanley Hayes was charged after he stole $710,000 from the credit union.
The 45-year-old Hayes was the credit union's CEO from 2005 until he was fired in 2016. While he was CEO, credit union funds were used to conceal financial strain the bank was facing as well as personal expenses such as insurance and property taxes.
In a statement, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said “In his position as CEO, this man was expected to act in good faith. Instead he used his position to help pay his personal expenses. This man’s actions not only broke the trust given to him but also broke the law and now he is facing the consequences.”
The Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services liquidated Valley State in 2017. In 2016, state regulators placed the state-chartered credit union into conservatorship to address issues relating to financial stability, saying the credit union was "operating in an unsafe and unsound condition."