A former credit union employee charged with embezzling money from the Natchez-Adams School District Credit Union was arrested Tuesday. Laura D. Carter, 44, 195 Steamplant Road, was being held without bond Tuesday pending arraignment today.

Credit union officials said Carter allegedly took more than $9,000 from the credit union while working as its manager.

&uot;We’re just sorry that it happened, really we are,&uot; said Teresa Lewis, president of the credit union board.

Board member Linda Grafton said the credit union first became aware of the missing money after firing its two employees, including Carter, in June.

The board fired the two employees because of complaints about customer service, Grafton said.

Afterwards, the credit union conducted an audit because new employees were to begin operating the credit union.

But when the audit was completed in August, the board discovered more than $9,000 was missing, Grafton said.

More than 600 certified, noncertified staff and retired district employee are members of the credit union.

Last month, the members received statements to verify their account information.

But because the money is bonded, &uot;We don’t expect there to be any actual loss,&uot; to the members, Grafton said.

The Natchez-Adams District Credit Union is located at Braden School, the central office for the Natchez-Adams School District. But it is a separate entity from the school district.

Natchez Police Chief Willie Huff said embezzlement cases &uot;are not rare, but they’re not running rampant through the community either.&uot;

And people who commit embezzlement tend to be caught by the auditors, he said.

The penalty for embezzlement is up to 20 years in prison and up to a $5,000 fine.