Christine Darley, former president/CEO of a merged Nebraska credit union, will be sentenced in December after she pleaded guilty to a felony count of bank fraud Thursday in U.S. District Court in Lincoln.

In exchange for her guilty plea, prosecutors dropped five bank fraud charges.

Darley admitted in court that she improperly obtained an $180,000 loan from the $3 million Panhandle Cooperative Federal Credit Union in Scottsbluff.

When Darley was indicted in February, federal prosecutors said she allegedly embezzled more than $535,000.

However, Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven A. Russell said during court proceedings Thursday that the “amount of loss and restitution is a contested issue.” Although court documents show she allegedly embezzled more than $535,000, the loss to the credit union was more than $200,000.

 

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