ROANOKE TIMES 

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, July 12, 1990                   TAG: 9007120078
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: C5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: GEORGE KEGLEY BUSINESS EDITOR
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

CHARTER CUSTOMERS STILL CALM

Charter Federal Savings Bank got numerous phone calls Wednesday from customers checking on their accounts but who felt no panic in the wake of disclosure of a $1.2 million embezzlement, said L. Aubrey Goodson, president of the Bristol-based company.

Charter said Tuesday that it has asked the FBI to investigate the loss of funds, mainly in certificates of deposit, at its Jefferson Street office in Roanoke.

Goodson, who came from Bristol on Wednesday to oversee the situation, said he was certain of only one withdrawal as a result of the embezzlement announcement. That transaction was at the bank's office in Chatham, he said.

"A number of people wanted to verify the situation . . . but a surprisingly small number came in" to the office, Goodson said.

The city's other banks and savings and loans reported no more than normal volume of business on Wednesday.

No arrest was made Wednesday and the investigation continued.

"We know the person most involved [in the embezzlement] . . . had a responsible position," Goodson said. But he said bank officials "have not been satisfied" whether there were other former employees involved in the scheme.

For that reason, the bank reported the embezzlement involved "one or more" former employees, he said.

In the announcement, E. L. Byington Jr., Charter Federal chairman, said depositors' funds are secure. He said losses because of the embezzlement would not affect the bank's repayment to customers whose accounts have been tampered with.

Charter Federal's stock price dropped slightly after the embezzlement was reported Tuesday. But it rose by 25 cents a share, closing at $1.625 in heavy trading Wednesday. About 14,600 shares reportedly changed hands on Wednesday, a larger than normal volume. Charter Federal stock has not been active recently. 


 by CNB