Former CU Board Chair, New York Judge Sentenced to Prison

NEW YORK–A former Brooklyn Supreme Court judge who was found guilty of obstructing an investigation into the embezzlement of funds from a major New York credit union has been sentenced to 15 months in prison, meaning she will now join the CU’s former CEO in also  serving time.

Manhattan federal court Judge Lewis Kaplan sentenced Sylvia Ash to the term in prison. As a result, Ash resigned from her position as a justice of the New York State Supreme Court.

Ash had once served as the chairman of the board at Municipal Credit Union. As CUToday.info reported, following a two-week trial, Ash, 64, of Brooklyn, was convicted of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and making a false statement to a federal agent. She was acquitted of another obstruction count.

The verdict was returned in Manhattan federal court after jurors heard evidence supporting charges that she took steps over multiple months to obstruct the investigation into financial misconduct at Municipal Credit Union while she chaired the CU’s board.

According to prosecutors, the obstruction occurred while Ash served on MCU’s board from May 2008 to August 2016, when she resigned. She had served as the board’s chair from May 2015 until her resignation.

Bogus Reimbursements

Prosecutors had alleged Ash received tens of thousands of dollars in reimbursements and other benefits from the credit union from 2012 through 2016. The reimbursements included payments for airfare, hotels and entertainment for her and a guest to attend conferences domestically and abroad, along with annual birthday parties at a minor league baseball stadium and payment for phone, cable bills and electronic devices, authorities said.

Ash was charged in 2019 after she signed a false memo to justify payments that Wong took from MCU, which was given to law enforcement officers, according to the initial complaint.

She also deleted emails and text messages to destroy evidence related to the embezzlement, according to prosecutors.

Ash has also been sentenced to two years' supervised release and ordered to pay a fine of $80,000.

Former CEO Serving Time

As CUToday.info also reported here, the credit union’s former CEO, Kam Wong, has already pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $10 million. Wong was sentenced in June 2019 to five years in prison. The $3-billion credit union was placed into conservatorship in 2018 by NCUA but has since been returned to its members.