AN INESCAPABLE PAST
As 2014 approaches to its end, the month of October proved to be another lackluster month for Priority One Credit Union in South Pasadena, California. Just as attested to by its monthly performance during the past seven (7) years, there was no evidence again, of an impending avalanche of new business and increased profits as promised by President, Charles R. Wiggington,Sr. just three months ago, when he revealed that that the closure of six (6) branches since October 2010 were part of a carefully executed plan designed to produce a surge in new business and fuel a level of financial and physical growth not witnessed at Priority One since before he became its President on January 1, 2007. For Charles R. Wiggington, Sr., the Credit Union's performance during the month of October 2014, served to further solidify our belief that he is incapable of extricating himself from his well documented legacy of failures.
As we've reported since January 2009, President Charles R. Wiggngton, Sr.'s maladroit business decisions have forced branch closures and replaced many senior, full-time permanent employees with part-time staff who are not recipients of medical or retirement benefits. His mismanagement of the once successful Credit Union transformed Priority One into a smaller and less successful company heavily reliant upon expense reductions as key to its continued survival. Under his leadership, the Credit Union's relationship with its once largest membership group- employees of the United States Postal Service ["USPS"], has grown tenuous. He also eliminated the Credit Union's once prize-winning Marketing Department in 2007 as part of a frantic effort to reduce spending and prove to his constituents that unlike his successful and respected predecessor, he had a smarter and better way of doing business. He was wrong.
In 2012, the President eliminated the Credit Union's once successful Business Development team who for years had contributed to the development of new business, helped increase membership and had been pivotal in developing and maintaining relations with the many diverse communities served by Priority One. The team's elimination coupled by the closure of six (6) branches brought an end to the Credit Union's visible presence within much of its vast territory.
Through the years, the President's horrendous business decisions have been continually enabled by the Board of Directors, however, even his business decisions have been overshadowed by his bizarre and at times, illegal behaviors. During the years of 2010 through 2013, the President's inappropriate, unethical and illegal acts have forced the spending of more than $5 million in legal fees. These exorbitant legal costs were spent on expensive and often unscrupulous attorneys, who scrambled to create defenses built upon aggressive tactics designed to vilify the President's victims and raise a facade the protected Charles R. Wiggington, Sr. from any retribution for his illegal acts.
However, in rushing to forge settlement agreements with former employees and one Member who sued the Credit Union, the attorneys inadvertently helped produce irrefutable evidence of the President's guilt. After all, if Charles R. Wiggington,. Sr. were truly innocent, then why would the Credit Union offer monetary settlements to what would have been frivolous and unfounded complaints? The only thing accomplished by Priority One's attorneys was helping President Wiggington avoid what woiuld most assuredly have been embarrassing and all too telling court trials.
This month's post....
contains copies of numerous documents supporting our continued contentions against President Charles R. Wiggington, Sr. Some of the documents have never been previously published on this blog. We also include financial information recently obtained from the NCUA's website, revealing Priority One's actual financial performance versus the hyperbole continually being spewed out by President Wiggington and the Board of Directors.
We recently noticed that following our September and October posts, that the President has ceased his unabashed and very public campaign, justifying why he ordered closure of six (6) branch locations while simultaneously, trying to create and bolster a fictitious image that he is a prudent leader. The biggest deficiency plaguing the President's incessant storytelling is that his often infantile excuses are never accompanied by tangible evidence. His campaign asserted branch closures were designed to jump start new business and promote physical and financial development though conspicuously failing to explain how the elimination of convenient branch locations and member service, are supposed to produce growth. As is often the case with any story fabricated by Charles R. Wiggington, Sr., his insistence of what he says is true lacked logic reducing his "story" to more gibberish from a man who is incapable of telling the truth and who always exacts efforts to escape accountability for this blunders.
But every cloud has its silver lining and when it comes to the deceptive assurances and juvenile excuses made by President Wiggington, it is always wise to demand evidence proving that what he says is indeed true.
PEARLS TO SWINE
IT'S NOT THE SIZE
BUT WHAT YOU DO WITH IT
For those unfamiliar with Southern California, Los Angeles County is approximately 4,084 square miles in size, including Santa Catalina Island. This poses a logistical problem for Priority One Credit Union whose President has deemed it sufficient to relegate the Credit Union's sprawling territory to a single Business Development Representative ("BDR"). The BDR, Joseph Garcia, has held a myriad of managerial titles since his arrival to the South Pasadena in January 2010, though proving quite incapable of carrying out his assigned responsibilities in each of his short-lived capacities. Unfortunately, for the Credit Union, for Members, and for Employees, Mr. Garcia lacks the skills, a proven track record of documented accomplishments, diplomacy, or the savvy needed to create and maintain relationships with the communities found in Priority One's demographically diverse communities.
While serving as President and CEO, the honorable and ethical, William E. Harris, orchestrated several mergers which increased the size of the Credit Union's territory and added new branches, amassed increased Net Income, and augmented memberships. During the last quarter of 2006, Mr. Harris finalized a merger with Inland Counties Postal Federal Credit Union, acquisitioning all of Riverside County whose physical size is 7208 square miles. The addition of Riverside County provided Priority One with the opportunity of developing new business with employees of the United States Postal Service and their families and also their families'. It was an incredible opportunity with seemingly endless possibilities.
Unfortunately, for the Credit Union, the merger was finalized at the end of 2006 and Mr. Harris retired on December 31, 2006. On January 1, 2007, Charles R. Wiggington, Sr. became the Credit Union's new President and CEO, inheriting the task of developing new business in Los Angeles and Riverside Counties. As history has proven, he was unqualified to do so, in part because unlike his predecessor, he's unmotivated and when he became President, boasted that he would in his words, "Just sit back and let the AVP's do all the work." Charles R. Wiggington, Sr. sincerely believed that all he had to do was lounge without making any effort and that his subordinates would bring in all the business required by the Credit Union to promote growth, accrue profit, and increase membership.
By April 2007, the disgruntled and slothful President complained, "Mr. Harris left me a mess (Riverside County)." Not so unusually, Mr. Harris never experienced a problem developing new business in the communities served by the Credit Union, but President Wiggington who is chronically unaccountable would fail to enact a single strategy that produced the level of new business required in Riverside County.
The fact is, President Wiggington was not left a mess. He was provided a wonderful opportunity that he was unqualified to handle. If Riverside had truly been a mess then how does he explain his failure to develop new business in Los Angeles county? In 2007, he arrogantly mocked his predecessor, describing him as "old school" and promised to show "everyone" that he had a "better and smarter way" to do business. Seven years later, we're still waiting. If President Wiggington, Sr. possessed a modicum of the competency demonstrated by his predecessor, he might never have resorted to cutting expenses as a primary means by which to keep Priority One's doors open for business. He might also have succeeded in developing new business and establishing relationships with the communities located in the more than 7,000 square miles that make up Riverside County.
But first.......
We intended to limit the subject of President Wiggington's abuses committed before and following his appointment to President to only two posts but due to the amount of information we intend to publish, we've had to add a third post which will be published in December 2014, concluding our series, "A History of Failures."
This past October 24th, the NCUA published Priority One Credit Union's quarterly Financial Performance Report ("FPR") for the quarter ending September 30, 2014. The disclosures in the report are inconsistent with the President's periodic insistence that business is doing well and on the verge of surging something that has yet to be realized despite more than four (4) years of assurances that at any moment, business might erupt.
According to the latest FPR, as of September 30, 2014, Priority One's income size totaled $149,491,398. Just for comparison, on January 1, 2007, the date Charles R. Wiggington, Sr. began his appointment to President, the Credit Union's income size was approximately $172 million. As of September 2014, the Credit Union's net income has decreased by approximately $23 million.
To better gauge Priority One's recent performance, we extracted the following record of its total income size for each quarter from September 2013 through September 30, 2014.
As referenced above, the Credit Union's Net Income or Net Assets have declined during the quarter ending September 2013 through the quarter ending September 2014 by approximately $1 million. According to its FPR, Priority One's Net Income was $150,479,488 on September 30, 2013 while on September 30, 2014, Net Income fell to
$149,491,398. This of course brings into scrutiny, the President's explanation that the closure of the Redlands and Valencia branches in 2010; closure of the Riverside branch in 2011; closure of the Burbank branch in 2012; closure of the Airport branch in 2013; and closure of the Santa Clarita branch in 2014, were part of a carefully devised strategy that will increase new business and membership and escalate the amounts of the Credit Union's Net Capital aka Net Income and Assets. Based on the disclosures provided in the FPR's its quite clear the President's alleged tactic is failing to achieve its intended purpose. Either that or his so-called plan is nothing more than a ruse designed to cover-up the President's bombastic inability to strategize effectively or intelligently.
However, if one chooses to ignore the history of well-documented losses resultant from the President's many failed enterprises coupled by his deplorable conduct then yes, one could readily believe that the President's tactic is progressing exactly as planned. Of course, ignoring the evidence would be absurd, yet that is exactly what President Wiggington would like people to do.
As we've revealed often over the past four (4) years, President Wiggington is unscrupulous and wholly dishonest. A visit to the Credit Union's Career page*, located on Priority One's s website [http://www.priorityonecu.org] discloses that Priority One is a "$154 million Credit Union" when their own FPR shows they are worth approximately $5 million less then the misinformation contained on their webpage.
"Priority One Credit Union, A progressive $154 M [million] credit union...."
The Credit Union's own "FACTS" about itself are both erroneous and intentionally misleading. The Credit Union has not been a $154 million organization in more than a year, yet the $154 million reference was added to their webpage this past September 2014. Obviously, the intent of exaggerating the Credit Union's worth is to deceive anyone visiting their webpage.
This is not the first time the President has exaggerated the amount of the Credit Union's Net Income. Prior to September 2014 and for a period of a few years, the Credit Union referenced the amount of its Net Income at "$175 million". At the time President Wiggington's predecessor retired, the Credit Union's Net Income approximated $172 million whereas under Charles R. Wiggington, Sr., the Credit Union's Net Income peaked to approximately $180 million in mid-2008 only after he borrowed $20 million from the Credit Union's line-of-credit.
Inarguably, Charles R. Wiggington, Sr., Executive Vice President, Rodger Smock, and the entire Board of Directors find it impossible to accurately report the amount of the Credit Union's actual Net Income.
We suggest the President and his cronies also take a moment to familiarize themselves with the definition of the word "progressive." Priority One's own reports prove that in 2014, the Credit Union is a smaller and less successful than it was in the years before Charles R. Wiggington, Sr. was appointed President. The financial losses incurred under the current President during the past seven (7) years prove the Credit Union is NOT progressive.
On December 31, 2006, the date President Wiggington's predecessor retired. the Credit Union's total Net Assets were $172,250,649. At the end of September 2014, Credit Union's Net Assets totalled $149,491,398, indicating a loss of $22,759,251 over the past seven years during which Charles R. Wiggington, Sr.served as President and CEO. Not only has Priority One lost more than $20 million but the President finds it necessary to continue exaggerating the amount of the Credit Union's Net Income by approximately $5 million.
So What Does Bankrate.com Say?
We decided to again visit Bankrate.com as we do from time to time and obtain a record of their most recent assessment of Priority One's actual performance versus the propaganda spewed out by the President.
For the period ending on June 30, 2014, Bankrate.com issued a three-star rating to Priority One. Three-stars, as shown below, indicate the Credit Union is merely "performing."
HIGH CAPITAL
According to Bankrate, the Credit Union's three-star rating is attributable to high capital. As we've shown since late 2010, the President's bludgeoning in spending forced closure of six (6) branches, sharply decreased the budgets once spent on prize-wining marketing and advertising and in 2012, resulted in the elimination of the once successful Business Development team. All of this was done to ensure Net Capital grew and remained above 6%. In 2009, auditors informed the President that Net Capital was declining and might soon fall below 6%. It was suggested to him to find ways of reducing expenses including identifying and closing branches that were performing poorly.
However, prior to 2010, the President and Board realized sales were in decline creating a financial strain to the Credit Union as it struggled, more and more to offset its outgoing expense. The President and Board Chair, Diedra Harris-Brooks, decided that borrowing $20 million from the Credit Union's line-of-credit would serve to create the impression of growth. Opting for superficiality over substance and results, the money was borrowed, temporarily increasing the amount of the Credit Union's net Income but adding a financial burden in the form of interest on the loan, approximating between $30,000 to $33,000 per month in addition to principle.
As shown below, as of June 30, 2014, Priority One's Net Capital remains well above 6%, ensuring the Credit Union remains operational. However, contrary to President Wiggington's disclosures made to employees in November 2011, Net Capital is not synonymous with profit. Nowadays, reducing expenses is needed by the Credit Union to assure it remains in business. Another effect of the Credit Union's addictive need to cut spending is attested to that in 2014, Priority One employs a large contingent of part-time staff who are not recipients of medical or retirement benefits. Ten months ago, in January 2014, the President ordered closure of the Santa Clarita branch in a frantic attempt to fuel an increase of Net Capital. However, what is all too clear is that President Wiggington is incapable of developing strategies the create a consistent flow of profit and attract new business. So will the President close another branch should Net Capital again teeter as it did in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013? And if so, which branch might end up on the chopping block? Will it be the large Los Angeles branch, the small but profit generating Van Nuys branch or the dismal main branch in South Pasadena?
However, prior to 2010, the President and Board realized sales were in decline creating a financial strain to the Credit Union as it struggled, more and more to offset its outgoing expense. The President and Board Chair, Diedra Harris-Brooks, decided that borrowing $20 million from the Credit Union's line-of-credit would serve to create the impression of growth. Opting for superficiality over substance and results, the money was borrowed, temporarily increasing the amount of the Credit Union's net Income but adding a financial burden in the form of interest on the loan, approximating between $30,000 to $33,000 per month in addition to principle.
As shown below, as of June 30, 2014, Priority One's Net Capital remains well above 6%, ensuring the Credit Union remains operational. However, contrary to President Wiggington's disclosures made to employees in November 2011, Net Capital is not synonymous with profit. Nowadays, reducing expenses is needed by the Credit Union to assure it remains in business. Another effect of the Credit Union's addictive need to cut spending is attested to that in 2014, Priority One employs a large contingent of part-time staff who are not recipients of medical or retirement benefits. Ten months ago, in January 2014, the President ordered closure of the Santa Clarita branch in a frantic attempt to fuel an increase of Net Capital. However, what is all too clear is that President Wiggington is incapable of developing strategies the create a consistent flow of profit and attract new business. So will the President close another branch should Net Capital again teeter as it did in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013? And if so, which branch might end up on the chopping block? Will it be the large Los Angeles branch, the small but profit generating Van Nuys branch or the dismal main branch in South Pasadena?
Unfortunately, for the troubled Credit Union, Bankrate's analysis is not all good news. Yes, capital is high but according to Bankrate, the Return on Assets ("ROA"), as shown below,is "Substantially Below Average". Another point of concern to Bankrate is that Priority One's overhead is "Significantly Higher Than Average."
This is actually the third consecutive year in which Bankrate.com concludes Priority One's "Overhead" is higher than the industry average and cites that this could potentially be problematic and an indicator that it could "lead to financial deterioration." Bankrate concludes buy suggesting initiation of an in depth investigation but don't expect either President Wiggington or Board Chair, Diedra Harris-Brooks, to initiate queries as investigations are a threat to these two who have spent the past seven (7) years, exacting tremendous time, effort, and the Credit Union's monies, to conceal the truth about the Credit Union's performance from Members, employees and the public at large. This past May 2014, the President ordered that employees limit mailing out copies of the 2013 Annual Report. His directive remains firmly in place and evidently his fear of further exposure is of deep concern for the chronically inept President.
As shown below, overhead is in Bankrate's opinion, a serious and potentially detrimental factor that could come to impede the Credit Union's future.
Bankrate's Earning Analysis reveals Priority One reported "net profit of $367.47 thousand" or an return of average assets ("ROA") in the amount of 0.25%". Bankrate adds that in the year preceding June 30, 2014, the Credit Union reported "net profit of $665,131" or an return of average assets ("ROA") in the amount of 0.44%. Obviously, the Credit Union's return on average assets has declined over the past year despite President Wiggington's continuous efforts to create an unevidenced impression the Credit Union's business is progressing forward and upward. ROA's are a primary measurement used in the credit union industry to gauge profitability. In Priority One's case, its ROA is .25% while the industry average is 0.81%. Irrefutably, Priority One's business is doing poorly and falls far below the industry average.
BANKRATE's SUMMARY
High capital aside, Priority One's documented performance reveals it is not generating sufficient new business to offset its overhead. This inability by the Credit Union also inhibits amassing profit and promoting physical growth. This doesn't bode well for President Wiggington; Executive Vice President, Rodger Smock; Vice President of Operations, Yvonne Boutte; Vice President of Lending, Patricia Loiacano; and the entire Board of Directors who are all apparently ill-qualified to develop effective strategical planning.
Source:
BEAUTY AND DA BEAST
In 2001, a beautiful Afro-American woman and Member of the Credit Union, visited the Loan Department in Priority One's main branch in South Pasadena, California and applied for a automobile loan in the amount of $31,876. Unfortunately for the Member, who we will refer to as "Patrice", her FICO Score of 518 and a few adverse credit references in her credit report, disqualified obtaining approval of the loan. The End. As with any incident involving Charles R. Wiggington, Sr., the circumstances in this situation would prove anything but simple.
Charles R. Wiggington, Sr. happened to be walking through the Loan Department while Patrice sat at a desk, speaking to a Loan Officer. Seeing the beautiful woman, he made beeline to the officer's desk using the pretext that he wanted to say hello. After greeting the officer, he turned and introduced himself to the Member and handed her his business card, inviting her to call him if she needed his assistance. The Member called Mr. Wiggington.
Patrice called and informed the President that she didn't qualify for a vehicle loan due to her low FICO Score and bankruptcy and charge-offs referenced in her credit report. Mr. Wiggington assured her he would look into the matter. It is important to note that this is a unique even as Mr. Wiggington has for years, refused to speak to members about loan requests which have been denied approval due to adverse credit references.
As shown below, the Member's Experian Fair Isaac Score was 518, indicative of poor credit. Her credit history contained a reference to a past due amount f $20,094. There are also references to a bankruptcy and to a judgment. The latter was issued by the Antelope Municipal Court.
THE APPROVAL
To ensure the Member understood the terms of the Credit Union's loan agreement she would be required to adhere to, Mrs. Wiggington scheduled a meeting to discuss the agreement and answer any of the Member's questions. The President called the Member and asked her to meet him at Fat Burgers located at 4070 Marlton Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90008.
Asking the Member to meet with him at a hamburger stand was wholly inappropriate and could have created a situation that could potentially result in legal ramifications to the Credit Union though it was quite clear that any such considerations were inconsequential to Mr. Wiggington whose self-indulgences have always taken precedence over the good of the Credit Union.
Mr. Wiggington, accompanied by his uncle, arrived at Fat Burgers and waited for the Member to arrive. Mr. Wiggington would later state that when the Member entered Fat Burger, she sauntered across the room causing every man to turn and stare but quickly adding, "Everyone looked at her but she came to us." And before jumping to conclusions, the President was not 17 years old on the day the meeting took place.
After their meeting, the President returned to the South Pasadena office and approved the request. The Member clearly worked Mr. Wiggington like a pony at a children's birthday party..
As shown below, the Member received approval for the automobile loan in the amount of $31,876 with an APR of 15.75%. In abusing his authority and deviating from Credit Union directives found in policy, the President also discriminated against all other Members whose FICO Scores were identical or higher than that of this Member but were denied their requests due to a low FICO Score and/or because of adverse credit references in their credit report. So is beauty justified under policy a basis for approving a loan application? Or does Priority One's policy cite attractiveness deemed a justified reason for denying approval of a loan application?
Since 2010, a growing number of complaints accuse Priority One of having eligibility loan requirements that are too stringent. Evidently, in Patrice's case, no such requirements were enforced. And though we can't comment on the reasonableness of the Credit Union's eligibility requirements, we can on the defiance by Mr. Wiggington to adhere to rules which were reviewed by the Credit Union's attorneys and subsequently ratified by the Board of Directors. Though these were clearly established to protect the Credit Union, Charles R. Wiggington., Sr. showed no hesitation to disregard these in the case of a Member whose request should have been denied.
So how many Members whose credit reports reference a FICO Score of 518 or higher and whose credit history doesn't reference a bankruptcy found their application for a loan denied?
Under Article 8.3, Credit Bureau Score, in Priority One's Loan Policy, it states:
The Credit Union RELIES on the bureau
score developed by Fair Isaac and Companies. This score is known as “FICO” when
ordered through Experian, “Beacon”, through Equifax and “Empirica”, through
Trans Union. Loan officers WILL USE THE SCORE TO DETERMINE RISK ALONG WITH OTHER CRITERIA REVIEWED HEREIN.
Not surprisingly, there isn't a single reference in the Loan Policy written to accommodate attractive women or men. Charles Wiggington's intentional disregard for Loan Policy was due more than a temporary lapse in judgment. Though the Loan Policy was reviewed by Credit Union attorneys and later, ratified by the Board of Directors, Mr. Wiggington's behaviors, actions and verbalizations suggest he may believe he is exempt from complying to the organization's policies which he has historically treated as suggestions. Furthermore, in the case of this Member, he showed absolutely no concern or interest in protecting the Credit Union.
Despite a FICO Score of 518 and adverse references in the Member's credit report, Charles R. Wiggington, Sr. approved the more than $31,000 automobile loan.
Not surprisingly, the Member never contacted Mr. Wiggington after obtainment of the loan. The scorned President later told the Loan Officer who funded the loan that the Member
Not surprisingly, there isn't a single reference in the Loan Policy written to accommodate attractive women or men. Charles Wiggington's intentional disregard for Loan Policy was due more than a temporary lapse in judgment. Though the Loan Policy was reviewed by Credit Union attorneys and later, ratified by the Board of Directors, Mr. Wiggington's behaviors, actions and verbalizations suggest he may believe he is exempt from complying to the organization's policies which he has historically treated as suggestions. Furthermore, in the case of this Member, he showed absolutely no concern or interest in protecting the Credit Union.
Not surprisingly, the Member never contacted Mr. Wiggington after obtainment of the loan. The scorned President later told the Loan Officer who funded the loan that the Member
"Used me. I will never talk to her again." To be fair, it was Mr. Wiggington who acted unethically when he disregarded the Credit Union's Loan Policy. He alone approved the Members application for an automobile loan. Furthermore, his decision to approve the loan application was unrelated to business and just a means by which to ingratiate himself to her. The Member never violated Credit Union policies and she never compromised herself. Her role in this incident, was purely manipulative and once she obtained what she wanted she immediately terminated her business relationship with the obnoxious, policy-breaking Officer.
In 2009, a then 101 year-old Member-Owner named Carrie Willis Williams, contacted Priority One's Member Service Department to request closure of her Credit Union accounts. Ms. Williams was no longer able to care for herself and decided to move out-of-state with her niece.
When she called the Member Services Department, the Member discovered to her dismay that monies had been siphoned from one of her accounts by her caregiver, Delores Gleaton, without the knowledge or authorization of the Member. The withdrawals had taken place in Las Vegas which Ms. Gleaton had visited for the purpose of gambling.
When she called the Member Services Department, the Member discovered to her dismay that monies had been siphoned from one of her accounts by her caregiver, Delores Gleaton, without the knowledge or authorization of the Member. The withdrawals had taken place in Las Vegas which Ms. Gleaton had visited for the purpose of gambling.
When then COO, Beatrice Walker, and President Wiggington were advised of the incident, the two refused to return Ms. Williams' monies from her accounts. Not only did they refuse to mail her a check for the money contained in her account, they also refused to return all monies that were withdrawn illegally. At the time, the rationale given by the COO and President was that they were concerned that Ms. Williams was being coaxed into closing her account. The issue with their concerns is that there was absolutely no evidence that Ms. Williams was being manipulated to close her accounts. It was pure conjecture on the part of the COO and President.
What is most peculiar is that at the time the monies were taken out of Ms. Williams' account, no one at Priority One, including the COO and President, made certain the Credit Union's protocols designed to protect Member assets, were being strictly enforced. What is also peculiar is that no one at Priority One ever noticed that the 101 year-old Member seemed to be spending an inordinate amount of time in Las Vegas casinos. Though possible suspicious triggers were evident, no one at the Credit Union took notice of these.
As we've published in past posts, in 2009, an audit of the Los Angeles branch's records confirmed that more than $60,000 had been taken from Member accounts by a former receptionist assigned to that office.
In early 2013, another audit of the Los Angeles branch's records showed that other thefts had occurred. At the time these were discovered, Vice President, Yvonne Boutte, told employees of the South Pasadena branch that the thefts had been perpetrated by the AVP who had overseen the Los Angeles and Airport branches. Why would the Credit Union not take notice of what most assuredly constitutes suspicious patterns of behavior?
Following the refusal by the COO and President to release Ms. Williams' funds, the Member was forced to procure the services of an attorney. In his letter dated September 20, 2009 and never published by us previously, attorney Ruben A. Spivey, addresses the issues of $17,080.00 taken without authorization from Ms. Williams' account. In his correspondence, shown below, the lawyer aptly asks why the Credit Union never realized that large withdrawals of money were being taken from the 101 year old's account?
Not only did the Credit Union fail to perform its due diligence, they failed to notify police authorities. It appears the Credit Union experiences tremendous difficulty enforcing its own protocols and clearly, they aren't very adept at protecting Member assets.
Not only did the Credit Union fail to perform its due diligence, they failed to notify police authorities. It appears the Credit Union experiences tremendous difficulty enforcing its own protocols and clearly, they aren't very adept at protecting Member assets.
CONCLUSION
As 2014 rapidly draws to its end, it appears Priority One Credit Union in South Pasadena, California remains securely entrenched in the cycle of loss and failure first begun by President Charles R. Wiggington, Sr. in 2007. The challenges facing Priority One also include its apparent inability to market its aging products and services supposedly designed to improve a person's financial life, yet in a Credit Union where its products are neither unique or new, what are the actual specific benefits any Member should expect to reap from what the Credit Union offers?
Since January 1, 2007,. the date when Charles R. Wiggington, Sr. began serving as President, he has compulsively shown his disdain for the Credit Union's policies, state and federal laws, and even for the well-being of Members, and employees. His long record of violations are numerous and have proven periodically, costly to a Credit Union struggling to garner new business. Before being appointed President, he intentionally circumvented Loan Policy and approved a more than $30,000 automobile loan to a Member whose FICO Score was a mere 518 and whose Credit Report referenced a bankruptcy and other adverse credit references. In the meantime, many other members with scores of 518 and better have been denied their requests for loans because they didn't meet the Credit Union's eligibility requirements. Not only did he create a precedent, he discriminated against other Members whose history was no worse than that of the Member he approved because he found her physically attractive.
Through the years, President Wiggington has violated policies created to protect the Credit Union and forcibly causing the Credit Union to be sued and pay out settlements. Despite his reprehensible acts, he has always found protection in the Board of Director who under leadership of its Chair, Diedra Harris-Brooks, have freely approved use of Credit Union funds to hire attorneys and consultants, who weaved intricate and fictitious defenses in an effort to exonerate the roguish President. In 2001, while serving in the capacity of Vice President of Operations, the President manipulated Credit Union policy and approved an automobile loan for more than $30,000 to a Member whose FICO Score was 518 and whose credit report referenced a bankruptcy and other adverse credit references.
- We saw this same disregard for policy and federal laws by the President and Board of Directors in 2008, when an investigator proved President Wiggington had sexually harassed a former employee.
- We witnessed this same disregard when he ordered repossession of an automobile from a Member who had fallen on hard financial times but who agreed to repaying the monies due on the loan. The Member's mistake was having financed a BMW, the President's favorite automobile. After repossessing the vehicle, the then owner of Credit Resolutions handed the President the title for the car. Mr. Wiggington never paid a cent for the vehicle which was supposed to be sent to auction to try and recuperate some of the unpaid balance. Instead, the President took possession of the vehicle which he sold a few years later, at a profit to himself.
- In 2007, the President chose not to enforce security protocols and as a result, ballots for that year's election were mailed out to members in envelopes on whose exteriors were printed Member credit union and social security numbers.
- In late 2009, the President and Board Chair committed collusion when the two disrupted that electoral process for the upcoming 2010 election. Their goal was to ensure the election did not result in the removal of any of the Directors who were loyal to Board Chair, Diedra Harris-Brooks, and the President and to whom ethics, policies and laws are based on their history of behavior, unimportant.
The widespread record of documented abuses committed by the President and enabled by the Board of Directors are merely symptoms of the their underlying psychology. In 2007, while standing in the Member Services Department and in the presence of Members, the President exclaimed loudly, "I'm President and no one tells me what to do." The childish rant was both embarrassing and telling, revealing that Charles R. Wiggington, Sr. doesn't perceive himself as an officer elected to serve Member-Owners, but as someone not required to abide to a structure of conduct defined under Credit Union policy and state laws.
Rather pathetically, Charles R. Wiggington, Sr. has proven he is a slave to his own unhealthy proclivities. His excuses verbalized to a select few employees that he ordered the closure of six branches as part of a well-honed strategy designed to fuel growth is both ridiculous and more than a little disturbing. If the Redlands and Valencia branches were closed in 2010 and the Riverside branch closed in 2011, for the purpose of reducing spending and driving sales and new membership, then why did he open the Santa Clarita branch in February 2012? The answer is both simple and obvious: He's lying. The President's absurd concoctions are intended to deter attention from his immense ineptitude and well documented failures. They're also intended to help him save face though after seven years of abhorrent behaviors, his reputation seems quite unsalvageable.
Contrary to the bill of goods he'd like Members and employees to buy into is that Priority One's decline is not the result of the national economy or the high national unemployment rate. He has also never been the target of a group of apparently invisible ninja-like bloggers who out of jealousy, have sabotaged the Credit Union's ability to do business. The Credit Union's failure to attract Member and potential Member interest in what it offers are easily attributable to the President's immense ineptitude and ignorance of marketing and his equal inability to comprehend the necessity of establishing and maintaining relationships with the membership and the communities located within the Credit Union's territories.
Bankrate's assessment which cites a concern about Priority One's overhead is a real and growing issue which could at worst, force the closure of another of the Credit Union's three remaining branches in the not-so-distant future. Oddly, it doesn't appear that President Wiggington can comprehend that closing branch locations reduces convenience to Members and in turn, serves to compromise the integrity of service levels. However, Priority One's internal and service issues are merely the by-products of the type of leadership provided by Charles R. Wiggington, Sr., the Board, and its Chair, Diedra Harris-Brooks, all of who have left Priority One a smaller, frail and ineffective organization.
IT IS A MAN'S OWN MIND, NOT HIS ENEMY OR FOE, THAT LURES HIM TO EVIL WAYS - BUDDHA
