Credit union board member indicted in $1 million fraud case.
Federal prosecutors accuse a former Pennsylvania credit union director of using an elderly woman’s retirement savings to buy property and equipment for himself and his family.
A former board member of a Pennsylvania federal credit union has been indicted on charges that he defrauded an elderly woman of more than $1 million, using her retirement savings to buy commercial property, a pickup truck and other equipment, federal prosecutors said.
William D. Brenner, 62, was indicted Aug. 5 by a federal grand jury in the Middle District of Pennsylvania on charges of wire fraud and unlawful monetary transactions involving criminally derived property, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors allege that Brenner persuaded a woman born in 1936 and her daughter, who held power of attorney, to move the woman’s retirement savings into an account at a local federal credit union where Brenner was serving on the board.
Brenner allegedly told the pair that he could provide a better investment opportunity than the one the woman already had, promising that the money would be placed in an investment account he would personally manage and would generate fixed interest payments over two years.
Instead, prosecutors say, he used the money for his own benefit and that of family members.
The account was established in August 2021, according to the indictment. By September, prosecutors allege that nearly all of the money had been depleted.
Among the purchases, prosecutors say, was a commercial property in Caneyville, Ky., bought in Brenner’s name. He also allegedly used the funds to purchase a new Dodge Ram pickup truck, a skid steer and other tools and motorized equipment.
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Brenner also allegedly forged an agreement that appeared to authorize the property purchase. Prosecutors say he created the document using authentic signatures belonging to the woman and her daughter that had been obtained on a different document.
Brenner served on the board of Susquehanna Valley Federal Credit Union in Camp Hill, Pa., from 2016 through 2022, according to the credit union’s profile reports as cited by PennLive. He became the board’s secretary in 2017.
Susquehanna Valley Federal Credit Union has about $87 million in assets and 5,619 members, according to National Credit Union Administration call report data. The credit union earned $800,000 in the first half of 2026, compared with $489,000 during the same period a year earlier.
The indictment does not allege that the credit union itself was involved in the fraud scheme. It says Brenner used an account at the institution to gain control of the victim’s money.
The case is being investigated by the United States Secret Service and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ravi Romel Sharma.
The government is also seeking forfeiture of the commercial property in Kentucky as part of the case.
The charges come as the Justice Department has increased its focus on financial fraud. In April, the department announced the creation of a National Fraud Enforcement Division, which it described as a specialized effort to investigate and prosecute fraud against Americans.
Federal prosecutors said wire fraud carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, along with supervised release and a fine. The charge of conducting monetary transactions involving criminally derived property carries a maximum sentence of 10 years, supervised release and a fine.
The case illustrates the vulnerability that can arise when an individual with access to a financial institution’s governance structure also develops a personal relationship with a customer or account holder. In this case, prosecutors allege that Brenner used his position on a credit union board and his control of accounts to facilitate access to the victim’s savings.
Still, the allegations remain unproven. An indictment is a charging document, not a finding of guilt, and Brenner is presumed innocent unless prosecutors prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
Ken McCarthy is manager of marketing communications at Tyfone, where he monitors the credit union industry and contributes to conversations shaping its future. He previously covered credit unions and community banking for American Banker and S&P Global Market Intelligence. He holds a journalism degree from Point Park University and has more than 15 years of experience covering financial services. He is also the author of three literary fiction novels.
