JACKSON, Miss. — New court filings by the National Credit Union Administration provide a more detailed look at the luxury spending and travel allegedly financed with millions of dollars misappropriated from Jackson Area Federal Credit Union, including an $88,275 Cartier watch, tens of thousands of dollars in purchases at Dior and Van Cleef & Arpels, private jet travel, a $3,700 lunch and a lavish New York jewelry-shopping trip.
As the CU Daily reported earlier, the lawsuit filed earlier this year by NCUA includes what regulators characterize as years of systematic fraud and extravagant personal spending. In June, when NCUA filed the lawsuit against the former president and CEO of Jackson Area Federal Credit Union and her husband, it alleged the executive misappropriated at least $95 million from the institution over a period spanning several years.
As the CU Daily reported, NCUA placed the then $143-million JAFCU into conservatorship on May 6 and appointed itself conservator. According to the complaint, JAFCU is headquartered in Jackson, Miss., and reported total assets of approximately $162.4 million and equity of approximately $14.7 million as of Dec. 31, 2025. On its mid-year 5300, JAFCU listed assets of $60.8 million and posted a loss of $103 million and net worth of -145%.
Previously Served as CFO
According to NCUA, Leigh Bridges became president and CEO around 2021 after previously serving as the credit union’s chief financial officer. The NCUA alleges she was responsible for preparing and signing financial statements submitted to regulators and had authority to initiate wire transfers on behalf of the credit union.
NCUA stated in its initial court filing that expenditures allegedly included more than $14 million in payments to American Express, approximately $3.3 million spent at Brooks Collection, a luxury jewelry retailer, nearly $1 million in construction costs, and hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on luxury vehicles, pianos and high-end real estate. As CU Daily reported here, NCUA most recently reported it has reduced the cost of providing around-the-clock security at the residence of the former CEO to $600 per day from $3,600 after moving valuable items from the property and receiving approval from its insurer.
Even after the credit union was placed in conservatorship, one local news outlet reported luxury items continued to arrive at JAFCU even after the CEO had been removed from the job.
What the New Documents Reveal
The new documents filed Sept. 4 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, provide even more alleged evidence of misappropriation by Leigh and Chad Bridges, as well as former credit union employee Tina Funez.
The NCUA alleges Leigh Bridges orchestrated a yearslong scheme that left the credit union with a deficit of at least $95 million, using false accounting entries, wire transfers and other transactions to divert JAFCU funds for personal use. The agency alleges more than $51 million in false entries were made to accounts belonging to Leigh and Chad Bridges and that approximately $26.8 million was transferred from JAFCU’s general ledger to Chad Bridges’ accounts between May 2019 and May 2026.
The newly filed exhibits put specific receipts, travel records and sworn testimony behind some of the NCUA’s allegations.
Bringing Receipts
Among them is an October 2021 Cartier invoice for an $82,500 Tonneau XL watch, plus $5,775 in tax, bringing the total to $88,275. The invoice identifies Leigh Bridges as the purchaser and lists JAFCU’s Highway 18 address as the shipping destination.
Another receipt shows a $24,817.88 Van Cleef & Arpels purchase in Las Vegas in August 2024 in Chad Bridges’ name. The item was a rose-gold and malachite Virgo Zodiac long necklace priced at $22,900 before tax and paid for with American Express.
Dior Purchases, Private Jet
Other exhibits document purchases in Chad Bridges’ name at Dior stores in Las Vegas in October 2025.
One receipt from the Dior boutique at Bellagio shows four men’s items, including three pairs of sneakers, totaling $5,202 after tax. The receipt indicates payment by American Express.
Three days later, a Dior receipt from the Wynn Las Vegas shows a $34,389.80 deposit in Chad Bridges’ name. The exhibit does not identify in readable text the merchandise associated with the deposit.
The NCUA also filed records for a private Learjet flight from Houston to Jackson in February 2025.
The Monarch Air Group documents show a Learjet 31A was booked for three passengers for a roughly 70-minute flight. The quoted price was $12,700 by wire or $13,335 by credit card. The paperwork was prepared in the names of both Chad and Leigh Bridges, and Chad Bridges signed the charter agreement and a credit-card authorization for an American Express card.
The private-flight records are consistent with testimony Funez gave under oath to NCUA attorneys in July.
Funez said that while most trips she took with the Bridges were on commercial airlines, generally in first class or premium seating, the group had begun using private aircraft during the previous year to year and a half. She said the travelers on some private flights included herself, Leigh and Chad Bridges and friends.
$370,000 Jewelry Shopping Experience in New York
Perhaps the most elaborate of the newly filed records involves a two-day New York trip in August 2025 built around a private jewelry-shopping experience for Leigh and Chad Bridges.
An itinerary from Graziela LLC and Brooks Collection Vault identifies the couple as “VIP Clients” for an Aug. 21 event that included a private jewelry preview and breakfast at The Greenwich Hotel, lunch at Le Bernardin, manicures and tickets to the Broadway musical “Death Becomes Her.”
Total event expenses were listed at $26,502.90, including $7,569.02 for the Bridges’ hotel room, $2,550 for ground transportation, $3,742.13 for lunch, $1,775 for Broadway tickets and $539.01 for manicures.
The document says the event generated $168,045 in wholesale jewelry revenue for Graziela, with a total retail value of $369,750.
Those records take on added significance because the NCUA’s original lawsuit alleges JAFCU funds were used for more than $3.3 million in purchases at Brooks Collection, a Jackson luxury jewelry and handbag retailer. The agency has alleged millions more went to American Express and other luxury retailers.
Funez: ‘A Few Hundred Thousand Dollars’
The new filing also includes portions of a July 2 deposition of Tina Funez, a longtime employee of the credit union, that provides additional details about her relationship with the Bridges and the benefits she says she received from Leigh Bridges.
Funez, who had worked for JAFCU since 2006 and became a branch manager around 2023, was previously added as a defendant in the NCUA’s civil case. The agency alleges she received hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, luxury merchandise, travel and other benefits. She has not been criminally charged in connection with the NCUA’s allegations.
During the deposition, Funez was asked how much Leigh Bridges had spent on her over the years.
“I would say a few hundred thousand dollars,” Funez testified, adding that she did not know the exact amount and noting that she had been given a preauthorized American Express card.
Auto Allegedly Purchased
That estimate generally tracks allegations in the NCUA’s amended complaint. The agency alleges Funez charged $508,035.86 between 2021 and 2025 on an American Express account on which Leigh Bridges had made her an authorized user.
The NCUA also alleges Leigh Bridges bought Funez a 2023 Tesla Model Y, gave her at least 30 designer handbags worth approximately $2,000 each and jewelry, while Chad Bridges gave her a Rolex. Leigh Bridges allegedly paid for the purchase and renovation of a home in Utila, Honduras, and Leigh and Chad Bridges transferred more than $487,000 from their JAFCU accounts to Funez.
Funez previously told investigators she did not know the ultimate source of the money Bridges used to provide those benefits and had never asked where it came from.
Trips to France, Vegas, Los Angeles
Funez’s deposition provides a fuller picture of the travel.
She said she had taken “many” trips with the Bridges over the years, including trips to New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Utila and Nice, France. She estimated that there were at least one or two trips a year and sometimes more.
The trip to France was for Funez’s 50th birthday, according to her testimony, and she traveled there with both Leigh and Chad Bridges.
Funez testified that she generally flew first class when traveling with the couple and that the France trip also was in first class. More recently, she said, the group had taken “a few private trips on a private plane.”
Funez also provided details about Chad Bridges’ collection of luxury watches. She testified that she knew he owned Rolex, Patek Philippe and Cartier watches and another brand she described as “Vacheron,” apparently referring to Vacheron Constantin. She said she had not personally watched Leigh Bridges purchase the watches for him.
Chad Asks Leigh for Flight Upgrade
Another exhibit filed by the NCUA involves Chad Bridges’ September 2025 travel to Kansas City for an insurance summit.
The records show a $471.37 Delta itinerary from Jackson to Kansas City and back, booked in main cabin under an account associated with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Chad Bridges, then director of financial and market regulation at the Mississippi Insurance Department, forwarded the itinerary to Leigh Bridges with the message, “My flight info for KC- upgrade appreciated!”
The itinerary itself does not establish that Leigh Bridges paid for an upgrade or that JAFCU funds were used for the trip.
NCUA Says Scheme Dwarfed Couple’s Income
The new evidence adds detail to a case in which the amounts allegedly diverted from JAFCU vastly exceeded the defendants’ reported legitimate income.
According to the NCUA’s amended complaint, Leigh Bridges earned $193,758 from JAFCU in 2025, while Chad Bridges earned $86,633 from his employer, the state of Mississippi, which has since terminated Chad Bridges. The agency alleges those incomes were insufficient to support the spending it has documented.
The NCUA’s initial complaint alleged more than $14.4 million was paid to American Express, more than $531,000 to Apple Card, approximately $3.3 million to Brooks Collection and hundreds of thousands of dollars to jewelers, contractors, interior designers and luxury-vehicle dealers. It also alleged JAFCU money financed properties and improvements in Mississippi and Alabama.
According to the NCUA, Leigh Bridges admitted during an April 17 meeting with board members and examiners that she had misappropriated credit union money and used false accounting entries to conceal the activity. The agency subsequently took JAFCU into conservatorship and is seeking to recover assets for the credit union.
Damages Sought
The lawsuit seeks damages, recovery of allegedly transferred funds, disgorgement, constructive trusts and other relief against the defendants.
Below, an exhibit submitted to court by NCUA in its case against former CU CEO Leigh Bridges.
