Allegations of wasted funds and voting fraud have arisen among members of what was formerly known as the UI Community Credit Union, as bad blood continues to boil in the controversial renaming of the financial institution.
Part of the dispute surrounding Optiva Credit Union involves the originality of the name "Optiva." Despite claims that the moniker is "wholly unique in the financial services industry," The Daily Iowan confirmed the existence of a San Diego-based financial company with the name "Optiva Mortgage."
Jeff Disterhoft, the credit union's president and CEO, said the name was selected after a credit-union committee and contracted research firm Weber Marketing Group conducted federal and state trademark searches aimed at procuring the copyright for "Optiva" in the financial sector.
The name, and the credit union's handling of the renaming process, has been criticized by some credit-union constituents, such as Dan Lechay, who points out that a simple Google search for "Optiva" reveals it is also the name of the corporation that developed the Sonicare Electric Toothbrush, a type of catheter, a bank in Estonia, and a brand of cigarettes, among others.
"It has no relationship to anything, whatsoever," Lechay said. "Not the history, not the locality, not the community it serves. It's a phony, made-up, artificial name."
...In a special Oct. 4 meeting, credit-union members voted 198-192 to affirm the Optiva name. But now, some are questioning the company's balloting methods.
Jeffrey Cox - a credit-union member and UI history professor - said that when he voted before the end of the meeting, the envelopes were already filled with ballots, showing that members had already voted. This, he said, contradicts mailed information instructing members to vote at the meeting.
Roger Smith and Jessie McRoberts, employees of the auditing firm McGladrey & Pullen L.L.P., which credit-union officials put in charge of monitoring the vote, corroborated Cox's statement.
As I've said before, this is so nutty and a waste of time and money. Jeff Disterhoft seems like a complete idiot.
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