Karen Brankin v. Family Security Credit Union

Plaintiff claimed that she was fired from her top-level credit union job after exposing a multimillion-dollar check-kiting scheme. She brought suit on a defamation theory. She claimed that the credit union had fired her after she uncovered improprieties, including a check-kiting scheme that involved used car dealer Gregory Steenson. The company lost $4 million and co-worker Robert Cagle went to prison in connectin with the scheme.

Credit Union President Ron Fields was out until Monday and unavailable for comment about a possible appeal of the verdict. Brackin held an upper-management job at the credit union where she had worked for 24 years. When spoke up about the misdeeds, her bosses accused her of those same improprieties, including forging customer signatures, placing loans in the names of individuals who had no knowledge of the loans and received no benefits from the loan proceeds and other allegations.

Brackin was suspended with pay Sept. 15, 1999, and was locked out of the credit union, Baddley said. She was fired in December 1999. Mr. Brackin had worked at the credit union since she was 18.

The jury awarded Brackin $800,000 in compensatory damages and $200,000 in punitive damages.

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Reported by AKM