Ex-president of Firefighters Credit Union charged with theft
By Matt Hanley and Dan Campana mhanley@stmedianetwork.com September 20, 2012 4:56PM
Anne Schaal, charged with stealing from Aurora Firefighters Credit Union
Updated: September 20, 2012 10:34PM
AURORA — The former president of the Aurora Firefighters Credit Union has been charged with stealing more than $30,000 from the organization over five years.
Anne Schaal, 66, of the 0-99 block of Birchwood Court, Sugar Grove, is charged with felonies theft and unlawful use of a credit card, according to the Kane County court records. Schaal had been with the credit union for more than two decades and was president until earlier this year, when an audit revealed accounting irregularities.
Schaal has also been sued by the credit union. That case is due in court Friday.
In May, the credit union sent a letter to about 600 members advising them of an investigation into a possible theft by a longtime employee. In the letter, then credit union President Cletus Rettenmeier said an auditor determined the credit union suffered a $35,455 loss. Additionally, the credit union had spent about $70,000 investigating the irregularities, the letter said.
In the letter to credit union members, Rettenmeier wrote that the problems “included failing to file tax forms over a number of years, failing to post or improperly posting transactions. Many of these transactions involved (Schaal’s) personal accounts. Additionally (Schaal) was using the corporate credit card to make personal purchases.”
Rettenmeier did not elaborate what those personal purchases were. A small number of individual accounts were affected by the errors, but corrections to those accounts were made in December, he said. Credit union membership is limited to firefighters and their families.
Credit union officials filed an initial report in December 2011, but Schaal indicated she wanted to repay the money, Rettenmeier said. Rettenmeier said the credit union board gave Schaal until March 1 to respond to a request for restitution. Schaal made no proposal for restitution and on March 7, credit union leaders told police that they wanted to pursue criminal charges, Rettenmeier said.
Credit union officials could not be reached for comment Thursday. Schaal’s attorney could not be reached for comment Thursday, but in court records he denies the credit union’s claims.
