CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A former loan officer for the now-defunct Taupa Lithuanian Credit Union was indicted by a federal grand jury Tuesday and charged with illegally obtaining more than $400,000 to cover overdrafts on his account.
Andrew Belzinskas, 45, of Lyndhurst, wrote checks, authorized payments and made purchases even though he knew he did not have enough money in his account, according to the indictment. From there, he worked with former Taupa CEO Alex Spirikaitis, and the credit union head made multiple transfers to cover his overdrafts.
This happened between 2007 and 2013, the indictment says, and Spirikaitis covered $436,026 worth of overdrafts. Belzinskas never submitted a credit or loan application.
He is charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud.
Belzinskas worked as a full-time loan officer for the credit union from 1991 to 2004. He was a part-time loan officer after that. He did not immediately return a phone call left Tuesday afternoon.
The National Credit Union Administration and the Ohio Department of Commerce took possession of Taupa in 2013 and placed it into receivership due to its insolvency. The East Side credit union, which served Lithuanian residents in the greater Cleveland area, had about 1,150 members.
Seven people, including Belzinskas, have been charged in the credit union's collapse. Spirikaitis was sentenced in December to 10 years in prison.
U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Mike Tobin said the investigation into the case is ongoing.