TIOGA, N.D.–One person has been charged with theft from a credit union and another has been sentenced for a separate crime.
In North Dakota, a former employee Western Cooperative Credit Union has been charged with theft after admitting to law enforcement that she took an unknown amount of money from the credit union.
Karen Ann Odegaard, 64, of Tioga, was arrested and charged with the theft of between $10,000 and $50,000, a Class B felony, according to the Williston Herald.
According to court documents, the Tioga Police Department received a request for assistance from the $501-million Western Cooperative Credit Union on Dec. 16, 2025. The credit union’s manager and branch manager told law enforcement they believed Odegaard had been stealing cash, the publication reported.
“The credit union’s staff determined that $18,000 was missing from a vault on Dec. 5, 2025,” the Williston Herald reported. “Records later showed that from Sept. 5 to Oct. 5, 2025, a total of $13,600 in various amounts had been deposited into accounts belonging to Odegaard.”
The report added that an affidavit filed in the case stated that when questioned about the deposits, Odegaard “was unable to provide a consistent explanation of the source of the cash deposited into her account.”
‘Money Came from Friends’
“At one point, she told investigators the money came from friends, including one person identified by initials,” the Herald reported. “However, when management contacted that person, the individual denied giving Odegaard any money, the affidavit said.”
The case was later forwarded to the Williams County Sheriff’s Office, where Detective Caleb Fry was assigned to investigate. Odegaard was terminated from her position at the credit union on Dec. 12, 2025, according to the Williston Herald.
The report stated that Fry interviewed Odegaard on Jan. 27 and that during the interview she admitted to “taking a little bit here and there” in a scheme that began last year, according to the affidavit.
Though unsure of the total amount taken, Odegaard told Fry she would pay the credit union $18,000 to “make this all go away,” the affidavit stated, according to the Herald.
46-Month Sentence for Former CU Worker
Separately, in Oklahoma City, Okla, Joseph Nicanor Isezaki San Nicolas, 34, has been sentenced to serve 46 months in federal prison for bank fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester.
According to public record and prosecutors, from January 2022 through May 2024, San Nicolas used his position at Tinker Federal Credit Union and later at a banking software provider to access and view private account data for members. San Nicolas then used customers’ private banking information to make unauthorized withdrawals and payments from multiple victim accounts, according to prosecutors. In all, San Nicolas stole more than $600,000 from victims at three financial institutions and used the money for personal use, including the purchase of two vehicles.
Guilty Plea
On August 20, 2025, a federal grand jury charged San Nicolas with bank fraud. San Nicolas pleaded guilty on October 14, 2025, and admitted he knowingly executed a scheme to steal money from victim accounts at the three financial institutions without permission or authorization, prosecutors say. At the sentencing hearing on Jan. 20, 2026, U.S. District Judge Joe Heaton sentenced San Nicolas to serve 46 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, and ordered him to pay restitution in the amount of $242,385.98, the amount of unrecouped losses, prosecutors said.
