Two Ex-Union Officers Charged in $350K Embezzlement Scheme
Former president and treasurer of AFSCME Local 1746 face wire fraud charges after allegedly draining union funds over five years.
Federal prosecutors have charged two former officers of an Ohio public-sector union with wire fraud and conspiracy after a Department of Labor investigation found they allegedly siphoned roughly $350,000 from their membership over a five-year span.
The charges, filed this month in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, name Pamela Brown, former president, and Adelle Burrell-Williams, former secretary-treasurer, of American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Local 1746. The union represents approximately 1,200 workers at Cuyahoga County Health and Human Services.
According to court documents, Brown and Burrell-Williams allegedly used the union's debit card to withdraw cash at casinos and wrote checks from the union's operating account without authorization between 2017 and 2022. Investigators with the DOL's Office of Labor-Management Standards in Cleveland further allege the two attempted to conceal their activity by falsifying financial reports and failing to preserve required records — duties that fell squarely within their official roles as principal officers.
Read more SEC Commissioner Peirce Addresses AI Role in Accredited Investor Rules →
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio is handling the prosecution. As with all criminal complaints, the charges are allegations only; both defendants are presumed innocent and the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
The case underscores the Labor Department's ongoing effort to protect union members from financial misconduct by the officials elected to serve them. Tips on union fraud can be submitted to the DOL's Office of Labor-Management Standards at OLMS-Public@dol.gov or by calling 202-693-0143.
Continue reading at DOL News Releases and Briefs.
