Former UAW Local 412 official Tim Edmunds pleaded guilty to embezzling $2.2 million as part of a plea deal with federal prosecutors.
Edmunds, who was the financial secretary/treasurer for Local 412 in Warren, Michigan, is the 17th UAW official convicted in a major investigation into financial malfeasance by UAW leaders in the last two years.
Known for spending time in Detroit casinos, Edmunds could end up spending 57 months in prison for the money laundering and embezzlement charges. He will be required to repay $1.9 million of the total he embezzled. He’s returned $300,000 thus far. He’ll be sentenced July 27, according to the Detroit News.
“The hard-working men and women of the UAW deserve leaders dedicated to serving the best interests of the membership,” U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison said in a statement. “Today’s conviction demonstrates our zealous pursuit of those who would seek to take advantage of their positions of trust within the UAW to steal and defraud union members.”
Edmunds escapades
According to federal prosecutors, between 2011 and 2021, Edmunds served as the Financial Secretary-Treasurer of union Local 412, which represents approximately 2,600 members employed by FCA US LLC, which is owned by Stellantis N.V.
Besides the tech center in Auburn Hills, Local 412’s members also work as engineers, nurses and clerical employees at Stellantis plants throughout the Detroit area, including Sterling Stamping Plant, Mack Engine Plant, Warren Truck Assembly Plant, Warren Stamping Plant and Jefferson Assembly Plant.
The criminal complaint claims Edmunds “systematically drained” the Local 412 accounts of about $2 million by using Local 412 debit cards for more than $142,000 in personal purchases. He also cashed Local 412 checks worth $170,000 into accounts he personally controlled and transferred $1.5 million from bone fide Local 412 accounts into accounts that he personally controlled.
Money used for gambling
Once Edmunds converted the funds to his own personal use, he used the money to gamble, purchase luxury clothing, high-end automobiles, and firearms. To conceal his theft from other UAW officers and the Local 412 members, Edmunds created false bank statements and filed false reports with the U.S. Labor Department.
Edmunds’s misconduct was exposed by the UAW, which has tightened up its internal accounting procedures under pressure from federal authorities, probing the scandal inside the union. Auditors from the UAW international union, who recently conducted an audit of Local 412, provided federal agents with information detailing the diversion of approximately $2 million in Local 412 funds by Edmunds.
Between 2018 and 2020, Edmunds used the UAW Local 412 debit card to make over $30,000 in unauthorized withdrawals at the Greektown Casino. While gambling at the Greektown Casino, records indicate that Edmunds had cash buy-ins of more than $1 million, and he put over $16 million in play while betting at the casino.
Between 2020 and the present, Edmunds registered at least 10 firearms, which ranged in price between $500 and $2,000 per firearm. In February 2016, Edmunds purchased a 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT for $74,365.
In July 2020, Edmunds purchased a 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, for $96,419 and in July 2021, Edmunds purchased a 2021 Dodge Durango for $76,491. Edmunds also leased two 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limiteds in December 2020.
Another reason for workers to vote down union membership. Union leaders are crooks.
His real crime was not giving the proper cut to his cronies and local politicians.