Devoid of Scruples

Like an over-privileged and out-of-control 20-year old celebrity, at the end of August, Priority One Credit Union could not refrain from embroiling itself again, in yet another scandal after Credit Resolutions (aka the "collections department") Supervisor, Alex/Alejandra Suarez revealed she instructed her staff to create bogus Facebook accounts which were then used by collection representatives to send out friend requests to unsuspecting Member-Owners whose accounts and loans were the subject of collection proceedings. The bogus accounts were also setup using photographs of attractive young women. Ms. Suarez steadfastly assured her staff and others, that the ploy was 100% legal. Unwary Members accepting a request for friendship from bogus accounts were afterwards contacted by collection department personnel, via Facebook, and ordered to remit delinquent payments due the Credit Union.  

On the surface, the procedure might seem clever, trapping unsuspecting Members who have failed to pay their monthly loan payments or who may have overdrawn their credit union accounts, though we are of the opinion that most companies who value their Members or customers might try to avoid employing tactics utilizing fraud and deception to achieve their ends.  

On the surface the ploy seems unethical and as we've since verified, creating bogus accounts is prohibited by Facebook. The three areas of concern we have with the Credit Union's ploy are: 

• The plan/plot/scheme ensnares Members by deceptively obtaining access to their confidential Facebook accounts.
• It utilizes photographs of young women who did not sign a release allowing Priority One Credit Union to use their images in a collection ruse. 
• Once a request for friendship is accepted, Priority One then has full access to a Member's list of associates and friends and personal activities. 

The use of deception to recuperate monies owed to it, demonstrates in part, the level of disrespect the Credit Union has for its Members. In their zeal to collect unpaid monies, the Credit Union has chosen to literally ambush and even humiliate unsuspecting Member-Owners.

Rather simplistically, Ms. Suarez assured her staff that the scheme is only illegal if a message demanding payment is published on a Member's Facebook timeline, adding that the Credit Union is within its right to recuperate monies due to it. 

There are so many nuances to the Credit Union's tactic and some which bring into question Ms. Suarez's competency as a Supervisor. We know Ms. Suarez is not an attorney nor is she qualified to dispense legal advice, so who did she confer with to obtain verification the ploy was legal and who authorized its use?

We actually don't  believe Ms. Suarez would have arbitrarily and on her own volition, implemented the deceptive tactic without first obtaining authorization from her immediate supervisor, Vice President Yvonne Boutte. Ms. Boutte is no stranger to manipulative tactics or scandals and historically, has been the contributor to intrigue and conflicts wracking the Credit Union.

• In 2009, Ms. Boutte boasted that when working on Saturday mornings, calls from the Credit Union appear on a Member's Caller ID as originating from the "California Lottery." 

• In 2009-2010, Mrs. Boutte was a frequent contributor to then COO, Beatrice Walker's heinous campaigns which ousted many employees who the two believed were conspiring against the Credit Union.

• In 2012, Mrs. Boutte provoked a Member into filing a lawsuit against the Credit Union when attempting to subjugate the Member whose confidential account and personal information were published on the Internet by an employee of the Credit Union and more than likely, either a representative or officer in the Credit Resolutions Department. 

We also believe that prior to its implementation, President Charles R. Wiggington, Sr. would have been consulted. This blog is written around and about the vast misappropriation of authority, abuses, and violations of policy and laws committed by the President Wiggington over the past 7 years and this latest incident is one that was more than likely perpetrated with his permission. 

Ms. Suarez has been an employee of Priority One Credit Union since 2008. She was brought to the Credit Union by then newly hired Credit Resolutions Director, Yvonne Boutte. At the time, the President had terminated his business relationship and friendship with the owner of Allied Management, the Credit Union's former collection agent. Ms. Boutte was hired to head the then new in-house collections department. 

Since her arrival in 2008, Ms. Suarez has been a polarizing presence. Early on, she showed an insatiable obsession for office gossip and intrigue, often publicly maligning subordinates and peers. From 2008 thru 2012, she and Mrs. Boutte gossiped daily and in the presence of members of the Credit Resolutions team, the Card Services department and Call Center staff. The two women, openly talked about a multitude of highly confidential subjects, openly defying Credit Union policies and in particular, the policy governing confidentiality.  However, in 2013, learning about their behaviors, Board Chairperson, Diedra Harris-Brooks, demanded the President bring an end to Mrs. Boutte's and her protege's disclosure of confidential information while in the presence of non-management personnel. However, Ms. Harris Brooks is often not as irked by the fact the President and his subordinates violated Credit Union policy but rather by the fact the Credit Union's unethical and illegal acts are made public. It was after all, Mrs. Harris-Brooks helped cover-up numerous violations of policy and law including the 2007 mailing of ballots in envelopes in whose exterior were printed Member Credit Union account and social security numbers; the discovery that the President sexually harassed an employee; and numerous violations of federal law which resulted in the filing of lawsuits by four former employees and one Member. In regards to the lawsuits, Priority One voluntarily settled each complaint before Plaintiff complains could proceed to a court of law.  

However, the big question is whether the use of bogus Facebook accounts to recuperate unpaid monies due to the Credit Union is illegal or merely a breach of ethics? 

In her article, "Debt collectors turn to social media to track down delinquencies", author Debora M. Tood states:

"....there are rules collection agencies must follow, and two government agencies are working to make that better known.

Clarifying that laws outlined in the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act of 1977 also apply to collection attempts made through digital media has been a priority for the Federal Trade Commission and Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, said Christopher Koegel, assistant director of the FTC’‍s Bureau of Consumer Protection‘‍s financial practices division. For example, FULL and HONEST DISCLOSURE OF IDENTIFY and the INTENT TO COLLECT A DEBT IS MANDATORY FOR COLLECTION AGENCIES." 

• Clearly, Ms. Suarez used a deceptive ruse to gain access to confidential and private Member information. 

• Furthermore, the Credit Union used the photographs of women without authorization in the form of a signed release. 

• The Credit Union also obtained access to the list of friends contained in Member Facebook accounts. Furthermore, if the Credit Union contacts a Member's Facebook friends without prior written authorization, then this too is a violation of the law. 

The good news is, there is legal recourse available to Member-Owners. What's more, If a creditor is found guilty of perpetrating a violation of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act of 1977, the monetary awards they are ordered to pay by the court to a victim, can be substiantial. 

"Individual debt collectors found in violation of the act could face fines of $1,000 per violation — money that goes directly to the debtor."

If you are a Member accepted a friend request from a bogus Facebook account created by the Credit Union and was afterwards contacted by a collection representative at your Facebook account, there are remedies. Gather your evidence proving the Credit Union sent messages to your Facebook account and file complaints with the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and/or the State Attorney General's office. Apparently, Ms. Suarez,. Mrs. Boutte and the President are again demonstrating the same disregard for the law that forced Priority One to pay out settlements to former employees and a Member in lawsuits filed in the years, 2010 through 2012.  

Source: Deborah M. Todd: dtodd@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1652 or on Twitter @deborahtodd, Debt collectors turn to social media to track down delinquents, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 19, 2014, 11:32 PM

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/business/technology/2014/06/20/Debt-collectors-turn-to-social-media-to-track-down-delinquents/stories/201406170010#ixzz3BilnyOJN

Last month, a reader of this blog posted a comment disclosing that after almost three (3) years and in response to our June 25, 2014 post, Priority One Credit Union finally removed stale information from its website's News and Updates page. Apparently, our expose' about the Credit Union's long disregard of information published on its website had a profound effect upon Board of Directors who ordered the President to clean-up the webpage. Our review of the Credit Union's website confirmed that most of the outdated information had been removed with exception to a single notice announcing closure of the Airport branch which took place on December 13, 2013. Evidently, someone at the Credit Union has problems proofreading and identifying information that is outdated.  

Source: https://priorityonecu.org/community/news/

On the other hand, our post had absolutely no effect upon the President's continued refusal to publish the Credit Union's 2013 Annual Report on Priority One's website. We of course were able to obtain a copy of the report whose excerpts we published in our last post. 

So if the President has been forthright and done nothing wrong, then why would he continue to suppress disbursement of the 2013 Annual Report? 

If anyone needs a copy of the 2013 Annual Report we can send one to you. Just write to us at our email address and we will provide a photocopy via email. Confidentiality and anonymity are guaranteed.  

MORE DELUSIONS

Donning the Role of Victim

In our last post, we reported that President Charles R. Wiggington, Sr.'s has entered into yet another campaign which spins the truth by trying to convince people that his decision to close 6 branches since October 2010 was intentional and designed to reduce expenses and increase profit. He recently played the victim, proclaiming that "People call me names because I closed down branches." 

His spiel is another lame attempt to spin the truth into something that is palatable to only himself and create the impression that he is a victim of scurrilous criticisms. As reported in many posts, Priority One branches have been closed because President Wiggington is unable to create strategies that generate new business and produce the level of profit to comfortably offset its overhead. We don't know of a single person who has ever disparaged the President because he closed down branches. Rather, the criticisms of the President stem from his abuse of employees, his misappropriation of authority, his squandering of Credit Union monies, his disregard for Members, and his very public immersion in scandals. 

President Wiggington is many things but never pragmatic. Since 2007 and always with the approval of the Board of Directors, the President has been forced to reduce spending to avoid closure or sales of the Credit Union  and maintaining net capital well above 6%. However, branch closures have robbed Members of convenience forcing the Credit Union to promote the benefits of Shared Branching and Home Banking. As we will show later in this post, reducing expenditures has negatively impacted the amount of salary paid to non-management personnel. 

A SECOND CORRECTION 

If anyone tried to access Priority One Credit Union's "Career" page during the months of June and July, a message would have advised you that you were "Forbidden" to view the page. After several weeks, the page is again available for viewing though an old exaggerated reference placed on the page by President Wiggington, has now been amended. 

After three years of reporting that Priority One had been exaggerating the amount of its Net Income (or worth), which the President ordered be shown at a whopping $172 million, the Credit Union has finally conceded and amended the amount to a more accurate $154 million. So what prompted the correction? According to one of our sources, the order to correct the reference came via consultants and state auditors. Though it always benefits any company to be truthful in its disclosures, under President Wiggington it usually takes some strong admonition to move the bull headed President to do what is ethical. 

Prior to June 2014, and for several years, the amount of the Credit Union's Net Income had been shown as $175 million. The Credit Union's Net Assets had reached $175 million under William Harris, President Wiggington's capable and highly respected predecessor. That of course all changed after January 1, 2007, the date Charles R. Wiggington, Sr. began serving in the capacity of President and CEO. Over the years, due to horrendous business decisions, overspending, declining business and an immensely inept Board of Directors, the Credit Union's Net Asset value dropped quickly. To stave off the appearance of decline, in mid-2008, President Wiggington obtained approval from Board of Directors Chairperson, Diedra Harris-Brooks, and the Board, to borrow $20 million from the Credit Union's line-of-credit. The loan raised the Credit Union's Net Assets to $182 million, though the effect was temporary and added a new burden to the Credit Union which for a year, paid more than $40,000 a month on interest alone. Following repayment of $10 million, the Credit Union continued to pay approximately $30,000 to $33,000 per month in interest. Is this an example of how Priority One enables Member-Owners and employees to achieve Financial Fitness and Win with Money? 

Priority One's decline is attributable to several factors that worked in unison to deplete the once growing, thriving, and respected credit union, transforming it into a much smaller, unpopular and no longer competitive entity and a mere shell of its former self. The President's chronic blunderings, the Board Chair's insatiable need to control all facets of the Credit Union's operation and the ignorance shown by the Board's Directors of financials, member service, business development, and marketing, have all contributed to the Priority One's decline.

ALWAYS READ THE FINE PRINT

We recently received an email from a Member who financed an automobile loan from Priority One Credit Union. He alleges that he was not provided copies of the loan documents he signed and assured these would be mailed to him in a day or two. When he did receive the copies, he noticed that the monthly premiums were higher than the amount verbally disclosed to him while at the branch. 

At Priority One the training provided to loan processors is primarily consigned during the loan funding process and not a formal classroom setting. This clearly determines the capabilities of any loan processor or officer. 

The Loan Department- Real Estate and Consumer Lending, is headed by long-time employee, Vice President of Lending, Patricia Loiacano. Mrs. Loiacano fully understands the rules, principles, and procedures governing lending, however, this is not to say that she imparts that knowledge to her staff. To the contrary, she is rather selfish and unwilling to share her knowledge with subordinates possibly as a means to ensure job security. 

Mrs. Loiacano does not conduct lending classes. Former Training and Education Manager, Robert West nowadays serves as figurehead over Employee Services aka Human Resources and allegedly oversees Compliance (though having no formal training in anything related to compliance). However, he is wholly unqualified to teach any person procedures governing anything related to loan funding.  

CUTTING EXPENSES

Actual Table @ Main Branch

Traveling the Road to Frugality

President Charles R. Wiggington, Sr.'s efforts to reduce expenses continue, unimpeded and out of necessity. In 2010, the President with the help of then COO, Beatrice Walker, and Executive Vice President, Rodger Smock, began implementing expense reductions, allegedly as a temporary solution to save money until Priority One could begin generating sufficient new business to offset their then amassing expenses and ensure Net Capital remained above 6%. 

Since 2012, the Credit Union began hiring more and more, part-time employees which enables the credit union to staff its last three remaining branches without having to pay medical benefits. This is the new normal at the troubled Credit Union and characteristic of the effects President Wiggington has had on the once larger, richer and certainly more promising, Credit Union.

More Evidence of Trouble

How Employee's Paid
for the 
President's Blunders

Nowadays, Priority One employs a large contingent of part-time employees because its a key means by which the Credit Union can continue operating. Part-time employees are not eligible for medical benefits or for the Credit Union's 401K plan.  Many full-time employees have not received raises since 2010 and 2011, the years President Wiggington implemented and re-implemented what has become a never ending wage freeze. Of course, President Wiggington and Board Chair, Diedra Harris-Brooks, make no reference to this in their email addresses contained in the Annual Reports for the years 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013. .

We recently conducted a search on the Internet, locating information about salaries paid by Priority One Credit Union. CareerBliss.com discloses that the Credit Union's salaries fall well below the industry average. If things were as promising as the President and Board Chair asserted in the 2013 Annual Report, then why is Priority One relying on part-time staffing and paying out salaries that fall below the industry average? 

CareerBliss reports that the average hourly rate paid to employees is $19.00 per hour or $37,000 per year. This is 34% less than the average paid throughout the industry. However, we have to disagree with some of the information published by CareerBliss as many of the Credit Union's tellers are paid $13.50 to $15.00 per hour which is substantially less than $19.00 per hour. 

We also noted that the references to officer salaries are inconsistent with the amounts reported by the Credit Union in their 9900 filing to the IRS. As shown below, the Credit Union received a single star rating from its employees. Here are some excerpts from CareerBliss: 

SOME MANAGEMENT SALARIES

Each year since 2011, we publish excerpts from the Credit Union's 9900 tax filing. The latest available copy if for tax year 2012. 

Though most employees of Priority One are paid less than the industry standard and despite the Credit Union's continuing inability to reap profits at an amount that could offset its outgoing expenditures and amass a profit, President Wiggington and some of his executive staff are paid a handsome salary for literally doing little to nothing and certainly all failing to introduce a single strategy that might bring an end to the ongoing fiascos created by Charles R. Wiggington, Sr. 

The Credit Union's Mission Statement to Member-Owners and employees states:

Our Mission: "To help our member-owners and employees achieve financial fitness. We are committed to providing quality products and services that help YOU win with money."

Source: https://www.facebook.com/pocuone/info

Clearly, the only people winning with money at Priority One Credit Union are its overpaid and incompetent officers, none of who have contributed anything to resolve the long slew of problems created by their less-than-illustrious leader, Charles R. Wiggington, Sr.  The actions taken by the Credit Union to increase Net Capital through reduced spending has ultimately been at the cost of the credit union's most valuable resource- its employees. 

Employee salaries at Priority One fall well below the industry average and many employees are part-time staff and thus ineligible to receive medical benefits. What's more the Credit Union's useless Human Resources Department aka Employee Services, has never negotiated affordable insurance plans for its employees. Subsequently, low pay and high insurance premiums have financially taxed employee salaries. Despite the inability of the credit union to prove itself as an employer who cares for its staff, the Credit Union still touts itself as capable of helping Member-Owners and employees become financially fit and through their products and services, help Member-Owners and employees win with money. The Credit Union's net asset size has declined by over $14 million since Charles R. Wiggington, Sr. became President and the Credit Union's 9 branches have been reduced to 3, clearly proving Priority One is far from being financially fit or capable of winning with money. 

The Mission Statement, authored by now Employee Services Director, Robert West, is nothing more than a poorly written attempt to expound upon abilities and assurances Priority One does not possess or is able to realize. The Credit Union should scrap and replace its disingenuous Mission Statement with something more truthful and inarguably, more accurate.  

SO WHAT DO EMPLOYEES HAVE TO SAY ABOUT PRIORITY ONE CREDIT UNION?

The Credit Union's single star rating referenced on CareerBliss is derived entirely from employee reviews of the Credit Union. 

Earlier this year, after approximately 4 years of employment, the Credit Union terminated its CFO, Saeid Raad.  Until a new full-time CFO is hired, the Credit Union continues in its quest to locate a new CFO, but is Priority One a Credit Union where an accomplished, capable and ethically-driven CFO might want to work? We certainly wish the best to any person who accepts an offer by the highly troubled Credit Union to serve as its next CFO. 

-

For anyone who  is considering applying for the position, here is some information regarding the Credit Union and its treatment and expectations of its CFO's.

For any person considering responding to Priority One's ad seeking a CFO, we thought we'd provide a little background about the Credit Union's most recent CFO's.

On Monday, December 1, 2009, long-time CFO, Manny Gaitmaitan, submitted his letter of resignation following three months of being ostracized by President Wiggington; then COO, Beatrice Walker; and EVP, Rodger Smock. Mr. Gaitmaitan's sin was that he refused to manipulate the Credit Union's account practices and on several occasions, warned the President that his demands to alter reporting were illegal. The President and Ms. Walker informed the Board that Mr. Gaitmaitan was difficult, insubordinate and clearly, not a team-player. 

At the time, Ms. Walker suggested not inviting Mr. Gaitmaitan to executive meetings, stating that by doing so they might be able to force his resignation. Ms. Walker, who had used this same ploy while employed by other companies, was absolutely correct. 

Though Mr. Gaitmaitan submitted his letter of resignation on December 1, 2009, he stopped reporting to work on Wednesday, December 3, 2009, and did not return to his office until Monday, December 29, 2009. 

In January 2010, the Credit Union posted its Balance Sheet/Income Statement for December 2009 and showing that Priority One ended 2009, -$5,458,432 in the RED.   In February 2010, Ms. Walker informed the President that her friend, Saeid Raad, could serve as an interim CFO until the Credit Union found a new, full-time replacement for Mr. Gaitmaitan. She assured the President that Mr. Raad, unlike Mr. Gaitmaitan, would cooperate fully with the President's wishes. 

The President conferred with Board Chair, Diedra Harris-Brooks, who approved hiring Mr. Raad on a temporary basis. However before the year had elapsed and at the request of the President and COO, Mrs. Harris-Brooks authorized offering Mr. Raad the post of permanent CFO. 

In July 2011, Ms. Walker who had been hired in 2009 to serve as the President's personal "hatchet woman", was abruptly terminated.  Over the months following her hiring, she had succeeded in usurping much of the President's authority but her costly strategies designed to increase business had all utterly failed. Ms. Walker also erred when she disparaged the Board, describing them as "uneducated" and "unqualified."  Her assessment of the Board was actually spot on but provoked the ire of the Board Chair. What's more, the Board had grown increasingly uncomfortable with rumors originating in South Pasadena, about Ms. Walker's sexuality. 

Earlier, this year, Ms. Walker's friend, Mr. Raad, was abruptly terminated shortly after orchestrating closure of the Airport and Santa Clarita branches. 

So is Priority One Credit Union an employer any qualified and self-respecting executive should hope to work for? 

 CONCLUSION

In his seven years as President and CEO of Priority One Credit Union, President Charles R. Wiggington, Sr.'s single greatest accomplishment has been establishing a reputation for propagating excuses intended to excuse his blunders and illegal acts.  His excuses and stories have been spewed out to the point of ad nauseum. Inarguably, he is the author for the failures which now preclude Priority One Credit Union from producing the levels of business and new memberships needed to gain upward mobility and reverse the effects of the multitude of fiascos created by the President. 

Some of Charles R. Wiggington, Sr.'s most memorable excuses include: 

• In 2009 and 2010, the President blamed an invisible group of non-existent conspirators who in his words were "sabotaging my plans to bring in new business."

• In 2011, the President declared that "all credit unions are doing poorly." His lame excuse was undermined by Financial Performance Reports from many other Credit Unions which proved financial and physical growth.   

• In the 2012 and 2013 Annual Reports, the President and his constant accomplice and supporter, Board Chair Diedra Harris-Brooks stated that Priority One was finally overcoming the effects caused by the nation's economy and national unemployment. 

• During the past year, the President has launched a new campaign, portraying himself a victim of criticism while asserting that the closure of 6 branches since October 2010 is part of a carefully wrought plan that is designed to promote physical and financial growth. 

His stories are all too easily refuted and proven to be nothing more than Wiggington-styled bunk and a wild and not-so-imaginative attempt to spin the ugly truth into something that is the product of careful contemplation. What Charles R. Wiggington, Sr.'s expense reduction are designed to achieve is ensuring Net Capital remains above 6%. However, his focus on preserving and even increasing Net Capital comes with a high price and his so-called "plan" is flawed, having compromised the Credit Union's integrity and impeding it from...

• Successfully marketing its wares.
• Providing convenience to its Members.
• Retaining a Business Development Team that generates sales and builds relationships with Member-Owners; and 
• Serving all of Riverside County, all of the Santa Clarita Valley, post office facilities in the county of Los Angeles or servicing employees of Providence Hospitals, Holy Cross, Tarzana and St. Joseph Medical Center. 

The reality is, the closure of six branches was an act of pure desperation and necessity and NOT some Napoleon-esque tactic conceived by a bungling President. In business, sometimes less is more but in the case of the President's latest excuse, nothing is never more.  

The closures have forced the Credit Union to promote Shared Branching and Home Banking as a viable substitutes to actual branch locations staffed by real human beings but the fact is Shared Branching and Home Banking don't serve as viable substitutes for real branch locations.  

The recent revelation by Credit Resolutions Supervisor, Alex Suarez, that her staff has at her request, created bogus Facebook accounts emblazoned by the photograph of attractive young women and used to send friend requests to unwary Members whose accounts and/or loans are the subject of collection proceedings brings into light the immense disrespect the Credit Union has towards Members or adhering to Facebook policies which prohibit this form of abuse. What's more the scheme is illegal, reminding us that under Charles R. Wiggington., Sr., policies and laws are merely a suggestion which the Credit Union may believe it is exempt from complying with.  

The Credit Union's recent correction on its website validates our 4-year assertion that the Credit Union had blatantly distorted its actual worth and published it as $172 million, an exaggeration of $17 million. As we've often declared, Charles R. Wiggington, Sr. is a man obsessed with creating impressions and projecting successes where none exist. Inarguably, in September 2014, Priority One is a much smaller, less potent, no longer competitive, and highly disrespected Credit. 

In response to our last post, a reader posted the following comment, describing just some of the activities orchestrated by Charles R. Wiggington, Sr. over the past 7 years and which we believe contributed to Priority One's decline: 

Also, Wigg has provided all the board members with free Internet hook-up to the credit union's network so they don't have to pay a provider for Internet. Now you know they're not using it to look at the cu's boring webpage. They surf the web and look at this blog and at times, post comments too. By the way, I'm pretty sure giving the directors remote access to the cu's network is a violation of some law or policy. After all, aren't they volunteers? Then again, Wigg pays them gas to and from South Pasadena which brings into question what defines "volunteer." In the days when the Credit Union was prospering, Board Members attended board-related conferences in Las Vegas, Hawaii, and Europe, allegedly for the purpose for enhancing their skills but that was the justification. The directors traveled to the destinations and did not attend the conferences. In the 2009 trek to Las Vegas, the Board's Chair receipts showed she spent more than her allotted $100.00 a day, mostly at hotel bars. President Wiggington ordered that any monies spent in excess of $100.00 be disbursed to other days so as not to create a record she exceeded her allotted daily allowance. 

At the root of Priority One's problems is its ineffective, ignorant, and ethically deprived Board. There is no disputing that Charles R. Wiggington, Sr. could ever have committed his far flung abuses of authority, rampant and seemingly uncontrolled spending of credit union monies, and almost compulsively violated policies and laws if he had not been enabled by the Board of Directors and in particular, its Board Chair, Diedra Harris-Brooks. Over the past 7 years, the Board has approved the vast spending of money on attorneys, consultants, and investigators, desperately trying to vindicate the President of wrong doing.  The President's multitude of egregious acts and failures have all come at a hefty cost depriving Members of quality member service and convenience while simultaneously sabotaging the opportunity for employees to develop a career or earn income commensurate with the industry average while depriving them of medical and retirement benefits. The only silver lining we see is that Charles R. Wiggington, Sr. continues to receive an undeserved salary in excess of $150,000 including bonus' approved by the incompetent and embarrassing Board of Directors. 

So as 2014 draws to an end, will Priority One suddenly experience a surge in new business or will the President have to target another branch for closure? If the only means of staying in business is retaining high Net Capital and without a sudden resurgence of new business, the President will likely have to close another branch. So which branch might he be forced to close? Will it be the small but thriving Van Nuys branch or the large Los Angeles office? Or might it be the main branch in South Pasadena? Maybe the question we should be asking is when will the next branch close?