Former credit union vice president to spend 3 years in prison for embezzlement, must pay $367,000

Published 11:44 am Friday, August 30, 2019

A former vice president of a Mississippi Gulf Coast credit union will spend nearly three years in prison after she pleaded guilty to embezzlement.

The Sun Herald reports Merrideth Christina McMillian of Vancleave begged U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden on Thursday to consider house arrest for her penalty, citing children in high school, but Ozerden declined. The judge also ordered McMillian to pay $376,152 in restitution.

Federal prosecutors say McMillian took out fraudulent loans using names of her father, son and friends, using collateral from her grandmother’s estate multiple times.

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The thefts occurred from October 2017 to last September, when an audit discovered the transactions.

Credit union CEO Jimmy Smith says the credit union’s reputation was damaged because of her financial crimes and justice needed to be served.