A lawyer filed a motion last week in U.S. District Court in White Plains, N.Y. to withdraw from representing a former CEO who sued a credit union after he pled guilty to bank fraud at another credit union.
Two weeks after he pleaded guilty to bank fraud and attempted bank fraud, Sean Jelen filed a civil lawsuit claiming another credit union allegedly offered him the CEO job and then rescinded the offer after learning he had Crohn’s disease.
On July 15, the former president/CEO of the $231 million Valor Federal Credit Union admitted to committing a series of fraudulent schemes, including embezzling more than $700,000 from the Scranton, Pa.-based cooperative.
On July 29, Jelen’s lawyer, Bradford D. Conover of New York City, filed a disability discrimination lawsuit against the $410 million Nassau Financial Federal Credit Union in Westbury, N.Y.
Conover, however, said he was unaware of this client’s bank fraud guilty plea until after the civil lawsuit was filed.
“I enclose a copy of Ex Parte Notices of Motion to withdraw as council pursuant to Local Civil Rule 1.4 and declaration of Bradford D. Conover in support of motion to withdraw as counsel,” Conover wrote in a Aug. 16 letter to Jelen. The letter was filed in U.S. District Court.
Jelen could not be reached for comment Monday.
“I would think changes will be made,” Conover told the CU Times Aug. 11. “As an attorney, I have an ethical obligation to represent a client. I also have an ethical obligation to do what’s right. I can’t simply withdraw a complaint without a client’s permission. I can withdraw as an attorney. So all of those ethical options are on the table and my client needs to let me know how he wants to proceed.”
In June 2015, Jelen applied for the president/CEO position at Nassau Financial.
On Aug. 19, 2015, the day he was fired from Valor, he learned the Nassau Financial board wanted to interview him on Sept. 18, 2015, according to the civil lawsuit.
Two days later, on Sept. 21, the credit union’s executive recruiter called Jelen told him would receive an unconditional offer from the board of directors. Later that day, however, the executive recruiter called Jelen back and questioned him about his employment with Valor.
Jelen told the recruiter that he had been out on disability leave since Aug. 19 for Crohn’s disease and was scheduled to undergo surgery by Oct. 1. Jelen was to start his new job in November.
The recruiter told Jelen to send an email to the board detailing his disability and medical leave from Valor, which he promptly supplied, according to the lawsuit.
On Sept. 23, 2015, Jensen received an email from the recruiter informing him that the Nassau Financial board decided to go with other candidates.
From July 2014 to August 2015, the 33-year-old Jelen embezzled $718,000 to pay for credit card bills, college tuition, his spouse’s birthday party and a golf tournament sponsorship. He also tried to steal $1.1 million by creating a forged severance contract before he was fired by the board.
He is scheduled to be sentenced in October.
