JACKSON, Miss.–Jackson Area Federal Credit Union, whose former CEO pleaded guilty this week to one of the largest embezzlements in credit union history, is being merged into Dothan, Ala.-based Five Star Credit Union.
NCUA placed the deeply troubled JAFCU into conservatorship in May and has been going through its books ever since. As the CU Daily reported here, former CEO Leigh Bridges pleaded guilty Monday to three federal charges stemming from the embezzlement of more than $69 million from the credit union, and now faces up to 70 years in prison and millions of dollars in fines when she is sentence Feb. 25 of 2027. U.S. Magistrate Judge LaKeysha Greer Isaac set Bridges’ bond at $25,000 during a preliminary hearing. Jordan kept the bond in place, allowing Bridges to remain free pending sentencing.
As of its mid-year 5300, JAFCU was reporting $60.8 million in assets, 15,704 members and a whopping $103 million loss and -145.63% net worth. What JAFCU’s ultimate cost will be to the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund has not yet been determined.
Immediate Purchase
According to NCUA, the $1.26-billion Five Star Credit Union immediately purchased some assets and assumed Jackson Area Federal Credit Union’s share accounts. Jackson Area Federal Credit Union was subsequently liquidated. Members transferring to the new Five Star Credit Union will experience no interruption in services, the agency said, reminding that individual accounts are insured up to $250,000, and a member’s interest in all joint accounts combined is insured up to $250,000.
In what may go down as the understatement of the year, NCUA said made the decision to liquidate Jackson Area Federal Credit Union “after determining the credit union was insolvent and in violation of numerous provisions of the Federal Credit Union Act and NCUA Rules and Regulations, including operating in an unsafe and unsound manner.”
The agency said it has spent the past months as conservator working to stabilize the credit union and address issues affecting its safety and soundness.
Jackson Area Federal Credit Union served 15,704 members and had assets of approximately $60 million, according to its most recent Call Report. The credit union was chartered in 1953 to serve employees of the City of Jackson, Miss., as well as employees and elected or appointed officials of Hinds County, Mississippi including 38 distinct groups, primarily composed of local government employees.
The Big Question
How Bridges was able to perpetrate the embezzlement for so long and to live such opulent lifestyle has been a subject of much discussion among CU Daily readers, who question how employees, the board, auditors and NCUA did not notice any red flags.
According to prosectors who secured the guilty plea from Bridges, the scheme began in 2011 and continued for more than a decade.
Federal prosecutor Deidre Colson said Bridges used an administrative code to access credit union accounts and post false deposits to four accounts: her own, her mother’s, her husband’s and an account she held jointly with her husband.
Colson said Bridges disguised the deposits as electronic transfers from various companies and entered false debits in the credit union’s ledgers to conceal them. She also said Bridges had altered credit union statements since the late 1990s or early 2000s to hide millions of dollars in shortfalls.
What Prosecutors Planned to Show
Prosecutors would have shown at trial that Bridges altered corporate statements and later began taking money being transferred to the credit union, according to a report by WLBT.
As the CU Daily reported earlier, Bridges served as CEO from 2022 until she was placed on administrative leave April 17, 2026, after an investigation into wire transfers. She previously worked as the credit union’s comptroller, senior account manager and chief financial officer.
As the CU Daily has been reporting, Bridges spent the money on luxury items and millions of dollars in real estate. The purchases included a $1.2 million property on Sleepy Hollow Drive, a $271,000 townhome on Eastbrooke Drive and a $655,000 condominium in Alabama, as well as an extensive list of luxury goods that included 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.
Paid in Cash
“Bridges made all these purchases in cash and in full,” Colson said. Bridges and her husband, Chad Bridges, have since moved out of the Sleepy Hollow property. Prosecutors said they plan to seek forfeiture and restitution under her plea agreement, according to WLBT.
The guilty plea follows a separate, ongoing civil lawsuit accusing Bridges, her husband and their friend, Tina Funez, of embezzling as much as $95 million. That case is also before Jordan, with a hearing scheduled for Oct. 16. Chad Bridges did not appear in court Monday this week.
Bridges declined to comment as she left the courthouse.
Earlier Reports
Coverage in the CU Daily to date has included:
Forensic Auditor IDs $73M in Losses Due to Alleged JAFCU Embezzlement, New NCUA Filing States
Judge Schedules Settlement Conference in JAFCU Embezzlement Case as Agreement is Sought
Ex-CEO Who Allegedly Misappropriated $95M From CU Repeatedly Invokes Fifth Amendment Rights
Conserved JAFCU Posts $12M Loss in Q2; Net Worth at -145%
Judge Issues Freeze on Assets in Case Involving Alleged $95M Embezzlement at Jackson Area FCU
Luxury Home With ‘Purse Room’ Allegedly Bought With Funds from CU Was Featured in Magazine
Husband of CU CEO Charged in Alleged $91M Embezzlement is Placed on Leave by State
NCUA Files $95M Lawsuit Against Former CEO, Husband, Alleging Extensive Theft Via ACH Fraud and More
