Posts tagged restitution
The Largest Teachers Union Embezzlements of All Time
February 8, 2023 // Denise Inez Owens was the treasurer of the Worcester County Teachers Association when she stole more than $433,000 of state and national dues money to feed her gambling addiction. The Maryland State Education Association discovered the theft in March 2009, but did not report it to authorities. Instead the union persuaded Owens to sign a confession and agree to a restitution plan. Owens then resigned her union position and returned to work as a middle school teacher without notifying the school district or union members of her crime. A newspaper discovered the incident three years later when the state union filed an insurance claim for its losses, and stated the theft was “not reported because of potential impact on membership and loss of members.”
Former New Bedford police union treasurer sentenced for stealing $50,000 in union funds
June 30, 2022 // “Mr. Fernandes took an oath to protect and serve the people of New Bedford. Instead, he violated the trust bestowed upon him by both the New Bedford community and his fellow officers,” said United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins in a press release. “For several years, Mr. Fernandes stole tens of thousands of dollars in union funds and recklessly spent it on a range of personal expenses including beach vacations, phone bills and online dating. Adding insult to injury, he tried to cover up his theft by backfilling the depleted accounts with more stolen funds from the union’s retirement investment account. Public officials who misuse their positions of trust for their own personal enrichment will be prosecuted. No one is above the law.” U.S. Attorney Rollins, FBI SAC Bonavolonta and Jonathan Russo, district director of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor Management Standards made the announcement Monday. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugenia M. Carris, deputy chief of Rollins’ Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit, prosecuted the case. Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Joshua Fernandes, U.S. Senior District Court Judge, Mark L. Wolf
Ex-Detroit Firefighter of the Year sentenced for embezzling $200K in union funds
May 26, 2022 // Verdine Day, 62, was sentenced to one year in prison and $220,043.65 in restitution to the DFFA, as well as two years of supervised release on her conviction for bank fraud as charged in an information filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Former Illinois state Sen. Tom Cullerton pleads guilty to 1 count of embezzlement
March 15, 2022 // The indictment also alleged that Cullerton “repeatedly failed to respond to efforts by his supervisors at Teamsters Joint Council 25 to contact him and routinely ignored their requests that he perform the job functions of an organizer, as was required of other organizers employed by Teamsters Joint Council 25.”