Aziz Ukshini is charged with crimes related to defrauding the St. Paul Croatian Federal Credit Union.

    2:55 pm

http://westlake.patch.com/articles/westlake-man-charged-with-fraud-bribery-and-money-laundering

Westlake resident Aziz Ukshini, 38, has been charged with financial institution fraud, bribery in connection with the business dealings of a financial institution, and money laundering, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of Ohio.

The charges are related to the alleged defrauding of the St. Paul Croatian Federal Credit Union for $2.8 million.

The Plain Dealer has an in-depth story about the collapse of the credit union from 2011, and Mentor Patch has an article about Anthony Raguz, the former chief operating officer who pleaded guilty to a variety of charges that cost the credit union millions.

Ukshini received charges for two counts of money laundering and one count for each of the other charges. These are just charges, not evidence of guilt, and Ukshini is entitled to a fair trial, the release notes.

Allegedly, Ukshini fraudulently obtained $2.8 million worth of loans from the credit union between September 2003 and March 2010. He was supposedly helped by Raguz and got the loans by “making false representations and promises.”