Posts tagged wire fraud
Boilermakers trial: Union leaders used $20M as ‘personal piggy banks,’ gov’t says
May 8, 2026 // “No foreign destination was beyond their reach,” she said. “Newton Jones hired family member after family member. His brother, sister, son, daughter and his wife, Kateryna Jones.” He also enriched himself by firing the CEO of a union-affiliated bank and putting himself in charge, Alhambra said, earning hundreds of thousands a year in that position. “All of it was illegal,” Alhambra told jurors. “And where did that money come from? It came straight from the pockets of Boilermakers members.”
Racketeering trial starts for former KC-based union leaders accused of $20M theft
May 4, 2026 // “What makes this trial so significant is that it is not only about the individuals who were indicted,” he said. “It is also about the system and the culture that allowed this to ever happen. “Newton Jones and what federal prosecutors have described as the ‘Jones Enterprise’ would not have been able to allegedly racketeer, embezzle, or misuse union resources if the people sworn to uphold their constitutional duties had taken that oath seriously.” The Boilermakers deserve better, Sulivan said. “This trial should be a turning point, not just for accountability for the past, but for rebuilding and restructuring our organization for the future,” he said.
AFGE President Demetrius Baldwin Hears Criminal Sentencing
April 1, 2026 // On February 26, 2026, 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 sentenced to five years of probation. Baldwin was also ordered to pay $46,729 in restitution, a $27,000 fine, and a $100 special assessment. On September 3, 2025, Baldwin pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1343. The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Dallas-New Orleans District Office.
Two ex-Boilermakers plead guilty in $20M racketeering case involving KC-based union
March 17, 2026 // Two former members of the Kansas City-based International Brotherhood of Boilermakers set to go to trial in May pleaded guilty Monday to racketeering conspiracy and embezzlement from a labor organization in an alleged $20 million scheme involving union funds. Warren Fairley — who took over for a short stint as president of the union in 2023 after its leaders ousted longtime leader Newton Jones — and Jones’ son, Cullen Jones, entered their guilty pleas in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kansas.
IBEW’s James Scotti Sentenced After Guilty Pleas
March 2, 2026 // James Scotti, an employee of Professional Sports Publications, which is a company that conducted business with International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 26 (located in Lanham, Md.), was sentenced to three years of probation with six months of home confinement. He was also ordered to pay $162,960 in restitution. On November 4, 2025, Scotti pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1343 and 1349. The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Washington District Office and the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General.
Ex-State Police Union President, Mass Lobbyist Sent To Prison In Corruption Case: Feds
February 19, 2026 // Dana A. Pullman, 64, of Worcester, was sentenced in a Boston federal court to two years in prison, followed by one year of supervised release on Wednesday, Feb. 18, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said. US District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns also ordered him to pay $43,915 in restitution. Anne M. Lynch, 75, of Hull, received 15 months in prison and one year of supervised release. She was ordered to pay $41,795 in restitution, federal prosecutors said.
Former Jacksonville teachers union leaders sentenced to prison for $2.6M fraud
February 11, 2026 // A summary from an interview prosecutors and FBI agents had with George in June 2025 said George claimed “it was an open joke in the [DTU] office that Brady did not really have any leave days to sell.” Because George’s job included keeping track of union employees' (not members') leave balances, “when Brady needed money she would say something along the lines of I need to sell some days,” said the summary, which Coolican attached to his sentencing memo. “Brady would tell George how much money she needed after taxes and then George would initiate a payment for the equivalent value of leave days. Brady directed George to do the same for herself.” For example, the summary said that Brady sold $20,000 worth of leave time when she needed roof repairs, and George assumed the two facts were connected.
Mail Handlers Union Boss Max Jaramillo Faces Multiple Criminal Charges
February 10, 2026 // On January 6, 2026, in the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico, Max Jaramillo, former Treasurer of Mail Handlers Local 331 (located in Albuquerque, N. Mex.), was charged with two counts of wire fraud for submitting false Form LM-3 Labor Organization Annual Reports and three counts of embezzlement, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1343 and 29 U.S.C. 501(c), respectively. The charges follow an investigation by the OLMS Denver-St. Louis District Office.
‘Corrupt union boss’: Federal prosecutors call for 3-year prison sentence for former DTU president
February 8, 2026 // In January 2025, prosecutors announced a variety of fraud charges against Brady and former DTU vice president Ruby George. According to the indictment, Brady and George sold un-earned leave time back to the union, enabling each to pocket more than $1 million. The indictment said the two withheld the activity from the DTU’s auditors by signing each other’s checks, hid the payments from the DTU’s Secretary/Treasurer, and withheld the funds from Florida’s Public Employee Relations Committee (PERC) in required yearly financial statements. Brady was also charged with two counts of money laundering.
IBEW Ally James Scotti Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud
January 7, 2026 // James Scotti, who did work with IBEW Local 26, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, totalling over $160k that would have been stolen.