Kam Wong, who led Municipal Credit Union (MCU), New York’s largest credit union (by members) through the 9/11 crisis, the Great Recession and Hurricane Sandy, was charged with fraud, embezzlement and aggravated identify theft in Manhattan federal court after he was arrested Tuesday.

Kam Wong

Federal prosecutors said Wong, 62, of Long Island’s Valley Stream, allegedly stole millions of dollars from the state’s oldest credit union through various fraudulent schemes from 2013 to 2018, and spent $3.5 million of the money he embezzled on New York lottery tickets, according to a federal investigation. The former CEO was placed on administrative leave by the board of directors in February after receiving a recommendation from a special committee that was overseeing an internal investigation prompted by the criminal investigation.