Former credit union CEO, state insurance employee sued over alleged $90M embezzlement
An amended complaint filed in U.S. District Court accuses former Jackson Area Federal Credit Union president and CEO Leigh Bridges, her husband, Mississippi Department of Insurance employee Chad Bridges, and former JAFCU branch manager Tina Funez of allegedly embezzling more than $90 million from the credit union, the suit says.
The Mississippi Department of Insurance confirmed Chad Bridges has been placed on administrative leave. “Due to issues not related to the Mississippi Insurance Department, Chad Bridges has been placed on administrative leave pending further investigation,” a department representative said in an emailed statement. Chad Bridges joined the department in 2004 and was identified in the suit as the financial and market division director; the department’s website no longer lists him in that division as of Tuesday morning.
The lawsuit alleges transfers began in 2015 and continued through 2026, totaling about $51 million in automated clearing house transactions, wire transfers and false ledger entries. It says another $15 million was used to pay credit card debts, about $3.3 million paid for fraudulent checks at a luxury jewelry and handbag store, and additional transfers funded purchases that included nearly $1 million to a construction company, more than $250,000 to an interior design business, nearly $130,000 for a Steinway piano and luxury vehicle purchases.
The suit says Leigh Bridges became JAFCU president in 2021 and had authority to conduct account reconciliations. It alleges she admitted on April 17, 2026, in a meeting with two JAFCU board members and two National Credit Union Administration examiners that she misappropriated funds and used false entries to conceal the activity. The complaint alleges her actions caused a financial deficit of at least $95 million.
The lawsuit alleges Leigh Bridges funneled high volumes of funds through her husband’s accounts, moving about $26 million through his accounts from May 2019 to May 2026, and that the couple’s reported 2025 incomes — about $193,000 for Leigh Bridges and about $86,000 for Chad Bridges — were insufficient to cover the purchases. The suit also alleges Funez received gifts including a 2023 Tesla Model Y, jewelry, at least 30 handbags, private trips, property work and purchases on the island of Utila, and monetary gifts totaling more than $480,000. The amended complaint requests a jury trial, the filing says.
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