Credit Union CFO Pleads Guilty To Bank Fraud, Stealing $18 Million

PONTIAC (WWJ) - A guilty plea by a former Oakland County bank executive who admitted to stealing $18 million.

Thirty-seven-year old Michael LaJoice pled guilty to one count of bank fraud and faces between 10 and 15 years in prison when he's sentenced next March. Lajoice worked at the Clarkston - Brandon Community Credit Union and over a 13-year period used a variety of methods to embezzle the money.

Officials from the credit union said serious accounting irregularities were discovered during a routine visit from the Department of Insurance and Financial Services. After LaJoice was confronted about the errors, officials say he failed to show up for work the following day and was immediately terminated as CFO, a position that he held since June 2015. He then turned himself in to police.

LaJoice owned a dance studio in Fenton and put millions of dollars into his home. His lifestyle didn't appear to match his $65,000-a-year salary.