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| Arlo Washington removed as CEO by federal regulators |
On January 16, 2026, the National Credit Union Administration ("NCUA") placed People Trust Community Federal Credit Union into conservatorship because of unsafe and unsound practices. They gave CEO Arlo Washington the old heave ho and gave control of accounts to Arkansas Federal Credit Union ("AFCU"). People Trust account members were directed to go to AFCU's 17500 Cantrell Road location in Little Rock for continued service.
The credit union had two locations. One in North Little Rock and the other in Little Rock.
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| 4301 E. Broadway St, North Little Rock |
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| 4000 W. 12th St, Little Rock |
There is no information posted at the former Little Rock location of People Trust to indicate the failure of the institution and where to go to get your money or make payments on loans. Just a undated notice about the lobby being temporarily closed due to seasonal changes and to minimize the spread of germs.
People Trust was chartered on September 16, 2022 and despite its recent charter, People Trust’s financial condition had deteriorated sharply.
The credit union lost $356,500 through Sept. 30, 2025, after reporting a loss of nearly $109,000 in 2024. At the end of the third quarter, its net worth ratio stood at 2.05%, well below the 7% level generally considered “well capitalized” under regulatory standards.
On January 20th, Washington did a sermon-like livestream on his Facebook page. Washington stated that the tile of the livestream was "No weapon formed against us shall prosper, because moments like this test our faith, unity and resilience".
Washington attempted to minimize what the takeover of his failed credit union by federal regulators meant and why it happened. He never took responsibility for the operational failure of the institution. Washington stated that he was working the NCUA and AFCU to "help members". Both NCUA and AFCU deny that is the case. He ends his sermon by taking a collection, asking for donations to be made on the closed credit union website.
Then on January 20th, Washington filed an Application for Relief from Conservatorship, as a pro se litigant in the Eastern U.S. District Court.
We learn additional information causing the closure of People Choice by NCUA from Washington in that filing:
◆ The Confidential Statement of Grounds for Conservatorship from NCUA identified declining net worth as a basis for the takeover.
◆ NCUA found People Choice to be undercapitalized and cited unsafe and unsound conditions (which included the declining net worth) recordkeeping concerns, unsound lending practices, inadequate internal controls and Bank Secrecy Act ("BSCA") violations.
It's important to note that BSA violations involve failures by financial institutions to follow the Bank Secrecy Act, primarily by not detecting, reporting, or properly recording suspicious transactions, large cash activities, and failing to implement adequate anti-money laundering ("AML") programs, leading to penalties like fines and imprisonment, with examples including missed Suspicious Activity Reports ("SAR"), poor recordkeeping, and inadequate customer due diligence. Violations range from isolated mistakes to systemic breakdowns, with severe consequences for willful offenses. A financial institution that violates certain BSA provisions, faces criminal money penalties up to the greater of $1 million or twice the value of the transactions.
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Washington blames others for the problems that necessitated the closure of People Choice and does not take any personal responsibility for how poorly operated the credit union was under his leadership.
Washington claims that issues with the mainframe software the credit union used caused the financial problems, specifically from fraud losses and loan charge-offs.
A review of financial filings made by People Trust do not reflect losses due to fraud. Those records also show most loans made by the institution were for used car loans, a majority of which were delinquent. There were zero loans for real estate purchases. Take a look at how much went out for "office operations expense" on the most recent filing (it's a year to date amount).
You can download and review those records yourself by clicking here.
Those reports reveal that no wages were paid to any employees from September 2022 until September 2025 when wages appear on the reports.
Based on our review of the financial records it was not a matter of would the credit union fail, but when.
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We reported about Washington in 2024 after the documentary about him came out. It was pure propaganda. You can read the story by clicking here.
