Posts tagged wire fraud
AFGE President Demetrius Baldwin Charged with Four Counts of Wire Fraud
September 17, 2025 // Department of Labor: On August 11, 2025, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, Demetrius Baldwin, former President of American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 2053 (located in Gulfport, Miss.) was charged in an information with four counts of wire fraud, in excess of $50,000, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1343. The charge follows an investigation by the OLMS Dallas-New Orleans District Office.
Philly campaign consultant Tracy Hardy pleads guilty to $2M pandemic loan fraud, union hall scheme
September 16, 2025 // He also pleaded guilty on Thursday to his role in a scheme in which he created fake bids for a union hall bar renovation job in Manayunk for District 1199C, a local chapter of the National Union of Hospital and Healthcare Employees. This made it seem like his construction company, Manayunk Construction & Development Corp., offered the best price for the job even though he inflated the price by $45,000. As part of the federal court agreement, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office will drop state charges against Hardy related to the union hall matter, so his codefendant, Christen Woods, the former head of District 1199C, is expected to be charged alone.
Boilermakers sue ex-president, demand he repay union nearly $500,000 he ‘misused’
August 3, 2025 // The Kansas City-based International Brotherhood of Boilermakers is suing the president it ousted two years ago, demanding that Newton Jones pay back nearly $500,000 of union money it says he misused. Filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, the lawsuit says Jones has ignored the union’s order to reimburse the money he’s accused of taking.
Union Reporting Threshold Threatens Worker Transparency
August 3, 2025 // Another issue is the lack of plain language on the LM 2 forms themselves. For example, they categorize money coming into the union as “receipts” — yet to most union members, a receipt is something someone receives after paying for something. The forms should be at a grade 10 reading level and broken down in one line, a simple explanation
Unveiling Financial Transparency Failures in Labor Organizations
July 24, 2025 // In 2024 alone, the DOL recorded 177 union enforcement actions involving fraud, embezzlement, wire fraud, and falsified records. These are only the crimes that rise to the level of federal prosecution. Far more ethical violations, financial misuses, and questionable behaviors fall below the radar leaving union members in the dark and are quietly buried through internal repayments, hush resignations, or legal threats — all without any formal DOL investigation or public accountability. Despite 16 years as a union official, I did not become aware of the existence of LM-2 financial disclosure filings until our local filed a lawsuit against our state affiliate. Imagine that: even as a union president and past treasurer, I was unaware that both our state and national unions were required to submit LM-2 forms to the Department of Labor. If someone like me — deeply engaged in union governance — was kept in the dark, how can we expect average members to know their rights, much less exercise them?
Former CA labor leaders charged with wire fraud to buy luxury clothes and shoes
June 9, 2025 // Two former leaders of a public sector labor group appeared before a federal district court in Los Angeles on Thursday to face wire fraud charges that involved using union credit cards to purchase clothes and shoes from designer labels such as Jimmy Choo and Louis Vuitton. In an April indictment federal prosecutors alleged that Shukimba Carlis and Sofia Herrera collectively embezzled $270,000 from AFSCME Local 2620 through a fraudulent scheme, which included suspending a trustee from the union who became suspicious of their activities.
Ex-union president for Homeland Security workers in Vermont avoids prison in embezzling case
June 3, 2025 // Leticia Russi-Shareno had earlier pleaded guilty to a wire fraud charge stemming from her theft that led to a $36,000 “out-of-pocket” loss to the union, according to court filings.
Iron Workers President Kyle Chasse Indicted on 12 Counts of Wire Fraud
May 5, 2025 // On March 19, 2025, in the United States District Court for the District of Maine, Kyle Chasse, former President of Iron Workers Local 745 (located in Kittery, Maine), was indicted on 12 counts of wire fraud and one count of making a false statement, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1343 and 18 U.S.C. 1001(a)(3), respectively. The indictment follows an investigation by the OLMS Boston-Buffalo District Office.
Former NIH union leader indicted on federal wire fraud charges in Maryland
March 24, 2025 // Goodwin, of Bowie, had criticized the labor practices of Trump’s first administration before she resigned her job and stepped down as the union’s president in 2019. She was quoted in a 2018 news release from the union’s national headquarters as saying the Trump administration “feels it’s above the law” and accusing it of union busting by walking back on certain agreements made during contract negotiations.
Carpenters Union Bribee Tagliaferro Got 60 Months Now Ordered Released as Time Served
December 13, 2024 // On April 21 Inner City Press up in the courtroom published: "day ended as witness described planning with Tagliaferro, in Brooklyn, to charge $600 fees "into our pockets... Our motive? To make some money." 2 big guys laugh."