WESTBROOK – After firing longtime president Ken Williams in September, Infinity Federal Credit Union has now filed a lawsuit against Williams, accusing him of using company funds for his own personal use, according to a recent letter to credit union members.

Customers were also assured that their money was safe.

Williams’ attorney said this week that he is denying the allegations.

After the Westbrook-based credit union conducted a routine audit this spring, according to the lawsuit, it was determined that Williams may have used his company credit card for non-company expenses, which caused the credit union to conduct an additional records review.

According to the suit filed in Cumberland County Superior Court on Nov. 8 by Infinity’s attorney at Drummond Woodsum in Portland, Williams used his corporate credit card to pay “thousands of dollars of personal expenses,” used a company car for personal use and used company funds to rent personal storage space.

Sandra Cloutier, acting president of the credit union, said last week that while she would defer comment on the legal proceedings to Infinity’s lawyers, it was the standard audit in March and additional review that led the board of directors to terminate Williams and proceed with the lawsuit.

Timothy O’Brien, of Libby O’Brien Kingsley & Champion in Kennebunk, said Wednesday that their answer to the lawsuit will “deny all of the allegations” and that Williams will most likely pursue counter-claims against Infinity.

“Mr. Williams doesn’t feel that they accurately portray the factual sequence,” he said.

A letter was sent this month to all Infinity members letting them know of the situation and responding to concerns. In the letter, Richard Powell, chairman of the board of directors, assured members that no funds were compromised.

“The credit union is fully insured,” he said in the letter. “This incident is disappointing and in no way a reflection of our dedicated staff who are committed to serving you.”

Cloutier said that she has been reassuring concerned credit union members that their money is safe.

According to the suit, Williams was fired on Sept. 9. He had been president and CEO since 1990.

One of two attorneys working for Infinity on the suit is Melissa Hewey. She said last week that there is not yet a “precise dollar figure” being sought by Infinity in compensatory damages, but that they are reviewing records from at least six years prior to his termination.

According to the suit, the routine audit conducted in March reviewed corporate credit card statements from the prior 24 months, during which time Williams made approximately 1,200 purchases totaling more than $66,000. According to the suit, he only provided receipts for 18 of those purchases.

“At this point, we don’t know what happened before the audit period, whether there was anything wrongful or not,” Hewey said.

“Defendant’s expenditures during the audit period included over $11,000 spent at BJ’s Wholesale Club, over $10,000 spent on gasoline, various purchases in Albany, N.Y., and purchases from marine and nautical stores,” the suit states.

Hewey said Tuesday that they don’t expect any updates until mid-December, when an answer to the lawsuit is due by Williams’ attorney. Williams’ answer will address the details of the suit he admits and denies, said Hewey. “After that, the court will set a schedule for the whole process of the lawsuit,” she said.

O’Brien said that final decisions concerning their answer and possible counter-claims won’t occur until next week. He said that from Williams’ perspective, the audit that led to his ouster was not an annual audit, and was “targeted at him to come up with the conclusion that they came up with,” O’Brien said.

According to O’Brien, Williams filed an age discrimination and whistleblower complaint against Infinity just prior to his termination. He said that while details of the complaint from the Human Rights Commission remain confidential, they believe that his filing of the complaint may have triggered his termination.

According to the company website, Infinity Federal Credit Union, which is the oldest credit union in the state, has been operating since 1921, first as the Telephone Workers Credit Union of Maine, then as Telco of New England.

Infinity is a nonprofit owned by its members, and its main branch, in Westbrook, is located at 202 Larrabee Road.