In 1964, a brotherhood of electrical workers in western Pennsylvania pooled their money and started a credit union. Fifty-six years later, federal regulators shut it down.

The scandal made some headlines, then the world moved on.

This investigation goes back to the people who had to pick up the pieces, who were left with more questions than answers, because what they were told doesn't add up.

We'll take you into the court documents, down rough country roads and through official government records, to find out what really happened.

You'll hear from sources speaking publicly about a crime others still refuse to discuss.

It's been a mystery sitting in plain sight for years, scattered across records and memories nobody ever put together until now.

Welcome to Overdrawn.

In May 2020, a small credit union in Beaver, Pennsylvania shut down with no warning. But what looked like an ordinary failure was actually a scandal that hid in plain sight for years. How did it happen? One word holds the clue.

For show notes and original photography, visit OverdrawnPodcast.com.

Stacey Shaw embezzled nearly $2.1 million from the credit union she ran, using six credit cards she had no authority to open. She raised the limit on one of them 89 times, to more than $1.7 million, and cut its minimum payment to fifty cents. In his first interview about the case, the former federal prosecutor who built it explains how investigators traced the charges. They found almost everything...except a reason.

For show notes and original photography, visit OverdrawnPodcast.com.

Stacey Shaw’s embezzlement, in her own words. Her defense attorney, in his first media interview about the case. An anomaly that no one can explain. And more questions than answers.

For show notes and original photography, visit OverdrawnPodcast.com.

"This was all in plain sight, had somebody just kinda looked at it." That’s what Stacey Shaw’s defense attorney said about her embezzlement.

We go looking with former NCUA examiner Joshua Herman, who doesn't know how 712 collapsed. Can he find out just from their financials?

We explore what the NCUA Office of Inspector General released about their investigation.

We hear the question Helen Marinkovic asked 712's board and the answer that, according to her, was their downfall.

And who was on 712's board? One person you may not expect.

For show notes and original photography, visit OverdrawnPodcast.com.

The pig farm that Stacey Shaw bought while she was embezzling from the 712 credit union figured prominently in numerous media reports about her crime. Despite the FBI finding that Shaw spent "a lot of money outfitting that land for her use", her defense attorney said the property wasn't "worth the deed that was printed for it", and the government agreed.

Where did the money go? To find out, we visit the man who bought the land from Shaw a few months before federal charges were filed against her.

The changes she made to the property, and the questions they raised, have stayed with him ever since.

And this is the first time he's spoken publicly about what he saw.

Special thanks to Christina Piaia at ProJourn and Ward Evans with the First Amendment Clinic at the University of Georgia School of Law for their legal assistance with this episode.

For show notes and original photography, visit OverdrawnPodcast.com.

"Only fifty-one months for stealing two million dollars? Sounds like a bargain."

"Probably went to some country club."

"Justice wasn't served, that's for darn sure."

"She got off easy."

I've heard all of these, and plenty more variations, when I talk to people about Stacey Shaw’s crimes, conviction, and prison sentence.

I can't blame them. I said some of the same things when I first began digging up 712 to see what else had been buried with it.

But were those assessments fair and accurate?

This episode is an attempt to answer that question by laying out what happened to Stacey Shaw after she stopped coming to work at 712 at the end of February 2020, so you can come to your own conclusion.

I was surprised by what I found. You may be, too.

{A listener note: this episode includes discussion of sexual abuse in federal prisons, including testimony a survivor gave to the United States Senate. There are no graphic descriptions, but it may be hard to hear.

If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual violence, you can reach the National Sexual Assault Hotline any time, free and confidentially, at 800-656-HOPE. That's 800-656-4673. You can also chat online at rainn.org/hotline.}

For show notes and original photography, visit OverdrawnPodcast.com.

712. $2.1 million. 51 months.

Numbers have defined this story. But one of the most important entries in the records isn't a number. It's a name.

On eight of 712's quarterly Call Reports, the NCUA examiner assigned to the credit union appears as the Certifying Official, beneath a certification directed to credit union leadership. Six of those reports were filed while CEO Stacey Shaw was embezzling nearly $2.1 million. NCUA confirmed the entries but wouldn't explain them.

Former NCUA examiner Joshua Herman found similar entries in at least 280 reports from more than 120 credit unions in one region from 2009-2019, with an examiner, an exam reference, or "NCUA" in the Certifying Official field.

Plus, newly obtained Inspector General emails reveal why the office decided to terminate any further review of 712's failure.

The examiner has not been accused of wrongdoing.

For show notes and original photography, visit OverdrawnPodcast.com.