UPDATED 9.7.2010 by Julie Montanaro

Two men slated to go on trial today for conspiracy and embezzlement will stand trial in November instead.

Eugene Telfair and Robert Nixon face federal conspiracy, theft and embezzlement charges.

The president of the FAMU Federal Credit Union and the head of FAMU's Institute on Urban Policy and Commerce are accused of scheming to steal about 134-thousand dollars in grant money set aside for historically black colleges.

A federal judge has set a new trial date of November 1st.
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UPDATED 7.8.2010 by Julie Montanaro

Two Tallahassee men accused of scheming to embezzle thousands of dollars face a judge in federal court.

The head of the FAMU Federal Credit Union and the head of the FAMU Institute on Urban Policy and Commerce both entered "not guilty" pleas this afternoon.

Eugene Telfair and Robert Nixon face conspiracy, theft and embezzlement charges.

Prosecutors say they've been running this scheme for three years and have stolen about 134-thousand dollars in HUD grant money set aside for historically black colleges.

The men were allowed to remain free until trial, which is now set for September 7th.

Neither man wanted to comment as he left the federal courthouse today.

We've interviewed Robert Nixon before as head of FAMU's Small Business Development Center.

Ironically, in the last interview with did with him in 2007, he was offering advice on how to protect your business from would-be embezzlers.

"Over time it becomes crimes of opportunity. And you'll find the amounts become larger and larger. So if you don't have those checks and balances in place, like a good accounting system that has a number of people responding and making sure everything is working properly, then you'll see these tragedies where businesses are losing money," Nixon said that day in February 2007.

That interview followed a string of embezzlement arrests at small businesses in Tallahassee.

A FAMU Spokeswoman says Nixon has run its Small Businesses Development Center (SBDC) since August 2004. She says the functions and duties of the Institute for Urban Policy and Commerce (IUPC) were combined with the SBDC in 2005 and Nixon was appointed director of the Institute for Urban Policy and Commerce in May 2005.

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Update 7-8 3:44 by Julie Montanaro

Both Eugene Telfair and Robert Nixon have just made their first appearance in front of a federal magistrate.

Both men entered not guily pleas and will remain free until their trial on sept. 7th

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This is a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office and FAMU's response to the indictment follows.

Tallahassee, Florida - A federal indictment was filed today charging that the president of the FAMU Federal Credit Union and the director of Florida A&M University’s Institute on Urban Policy and Commerce conspired to embezzle HUD grant funds, announced United States Attorney Pamela C. Marsh, Northern District of Florida.

The three-count indictment charges Eugene Telfair (57) and Robert Nixon (45), both of Tallahassee, with conspiracy, theft from an organization receiving federal funds, and embezzlement of funds intrusted to a federally-insured credit union.

Specifically, the indictment alleges that between 2005 and 2008, Telfair, the president of the FAMU Federal Credit Union (“FFCU”), and Nixon, the director of FAMU’s Institute on Urban Policy and Commerce (“the Institute”), conspired to steal approximately $134,253 in grant funds that had been awarded to FAMU in connection with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities program.

The indictment states that Telfair and Nixon wrote one another checks from an FFCU account containing the grant funds and created fraudulent personal services contracts to make their taking of the funds appear legitimate.

Telfair is also alleged to have created false tax documents, and to have changed the taxpayer identification number on the grant account from the number assigned to FAMU to the taxpayer id number assigned to his credit union.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Insurance Fraud. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Rhew-Miller.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a criminal offense. Every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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FAMU Spokeswoman Sharon Saunders sent this statement in response to this afternoon's indictments:

“The University has recently been made aware that federal indictments have been issued against Gene Telfair, the president of the FAMU Credit Union and Robert Nixon, the Director of FAMU Small Business Development Center.

As you may know, the Credit Union is not affiliated with the University; however, Mr. Nixon is an employee of the University. The University will review this matter as appropriate and will proceed in a manner that is in its best interest.”