Charles Juska, former president/CEO of the $22.2 millionTazewell County School Employees Credit Union in Pekin, Ill., wassentenced Friday to three years in prison for bank fraud.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge James E. Shadid in Peoria, Ill.,also ordered the former 17-year chief executive to serve five yearsof supervised release. Judge Shadid said he would issue a rulingover the disputed restitution amount in March 2017.

Juska is scheduled to begin his sentence on April 4, 2017.

His fraudulent scheme led to a substantial financial hardshipfor the credit union that serves 1,614 members. According to courtdocuments, Tazewell County School Employees CU lost about 1,000accounts while loans dropped by 75%. What's more, the cooperativehas not turned a profit in five years. While the credit unioncontinued to post net losses in the first and second quarter ofthis year totaling $9,523, it posted a net income gain of $119,767,at the end of the third quarter.

However, the cooperative has also been required to undergospecial exams because it was placed on the State of IllinoisDepartment of Financial Regulation's watch list and remains on thatlist. Additionally, the credit union is not able to pay competitivedividends or interest rates, according to court documents.

Kevin Freeman, president/CEO of Tazewell County SchoolsEmployees CU, did not respond to CU Times' messagesseeking comment Friday. Juska's lawyer, Joel E. Brown of Peoria,also did not respond to a message from CU Times seekingcomment.

In May, after a four-day trial and four hours of deliberation, afederal jury found the 53-year-old Juska guilty of bank fraud and other felonies.

He was indicted in May 2014 on 18 felony counts of bank fraud,making false entries and misapplying funds of approximately$550,000.

Federal prosecutors said Juska executed a loan scheme thatbenefitted members with bad credit and falsely minimized theinstitution's loan delinquencies.

The jury found Juska guilty of 11 felony counts of bank fraud,making false entries and misapplying credit union funds. However,the jury also found Juska not guilty on seven felony countsof bankfraud, making false entries and misapplying credit unionfunds.

Juska's lawyer argued that his client did not profit from hisconduct and wanted to help credit union members who fell into hardtimes. Federal prosecutors countered that Juska did so at the costof hundreds of thousands of dollars to the credit union, accordingto local media reports.

At the end of the trial, however, prosecutors convinced the jurythat the evidence proved Juska forged members'signatures, created numerous fraudulent loans, shifted moneybetween accounts and falsified the books over a five-year span.

For members who were not eligible for a loan or having troublemaking loan payments, Juska created loans in the names of othermembers by forging their signatures. He then used those funds tocover other members' loans and delinquencies, prosecutors said.

In addition, Juska created new loans for members with delinquentloans and used those funds to make payments on the delinquencies.He also concealed some delinquencies by writing loan advances onexisting loans, allowing members to use the advances to makepayments on the same loans.

In loan applications, he entered false information such aslisting collateral that did not exist. He also failed to verify thevalue of other collateral. Federal prosecutors also said Juska usedthe same collateral for multiple loans, resulting in unsecured orunder-secured loans.

The former CEO also concealed delinquent loans from the board ofdirectors and loan committee by adjusting loan rates to lower thepayments while not revealing the lower rate to the board.

Juska served as the credit union's president for 17 years beforehis departure in December 2010.