Yet another United Auto Workers official has been charged as part of a long-running investigation into corruption within the union.
UAW Local 41 Financial Secretary/Treasurer Tim Edmunds has been charged with embezzling more than $2 million in union funds, money laundering, and spending funds on personal shopping sprees.
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Investigators state that the 53-year-old, who worked at the UAW between 2011 and 2012, drained union bank accounts of roughly $2 million by using labor group credit cards for personal purchases, cashing local checks, and transferring money into his accounts. Edmunds used union funds for purchases at Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga, and Apple, as well as child support payments and gambling binges, The Detroit News reports.
New UAW slogan: “Fighting for their right to steal money from workers!”
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He also made $30,000 in unauthorized ATM transactions with a union credit card at Greektown Casino in Detroit from 2018-2020. Prosecutors allege Edmunds had put more than $16 million in play at the casino from 2016-2020 and had cash buy-ins of more than $1 million. He also used union funds to purchase five vehicles, including a a $74,000 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT, a $96,000 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk and a $76,000 2021 Dodge Durango.
“The members of the UAW deserve a union free of corrupt and crooked leadership,” Acting U.S. Attorney Saima Mohsin said in a statement. “We will continue to root out and prosecute those corrupt leaders who seek to use UAW funds as their own personal piggybank.”
Edmunds has been charged with theft or embezzlement of union funds, filing false labor reports, and money laundering. He faces more than 20 years in federal prison if convicted.
