Former President And Executive Vice President Of Local Teachers Union Plead Guilty To Stealing Union Funds In Leave Scam

Jacksonville, Florida - United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces that Teresa Brady (70, Jacksonville) and Ruby George (82, Jacksonville) have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, aiding and abetting wire fraud, and aiding and abetting mail fraud. Each count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. Brady also pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. Brady and George have also agreed to forfeit the traceable to proceeds of the offense, which cumulatively total at least $2.6 million.

According to the plea agreements, Brady and George were the President and Executive Vice President of Duval Teachers United (DTU), a labor union that represents Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) teachers, paraprofessionals, and office personnel. DTU has approximately 6,500 members and represents approximately 80% of eligible DCPS employees. DTU's annual revenue is approximately $5 million, which is comprised of funds paid by dues-paying members.

Between 2013 and 2022, Brady and George engaged in a conspiracy to steal more than $1.2 million apiece from the DTU by selling leave time to DTU that they had not accrued or earned back. They hid their scheme by providing false information to a DTU's auditor and by signing each other's checks when distributing the unaccrued and unearned leave money, hiding those payments from the DTU Secretary/Treasurer. Brady and George also withheld this unearned compensation from the Florida Public Employee Relations Commission (PERC), responsible for public labor unions in Florida, in required annual financial statement filings, some of which were mailed to PERC. Brady then used the fraud proceeds and engaged in at least one monetary transaction of more than $10,000 to pay personal credit card debt.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kelly S. Milliron.

NOTE: This matter occurred on a previous date but not published at that time due to government shutdown. Press release posted and made available following the return to normal operations.