JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Two former leaders of Duval Teachers United (DTU) have been indicted on federal charges of fraud and money laundering, accused of stealing millions from the union they represented.
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Teresa Brady, 69, and Ruby George, 81, both of Jacksonville, face charges including conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, aiding and abetting wire fraud, and mail fraud.
Ms Brady is also charged with money laundering. If convicted, both could face up to 20 years in prison for each fraud-related count, while Brady could face an additional 10 years for each money laundering count.
According to the indictment, Ms Brady and Ms George, as President and Executive Vice President of DTU, respectively, allegedly conspired to steal over $1.2 million each by selling back unearned leave time to the union between 2013 and 2022.
The pair reportedly falsified financial records, concealed payments from auditors, and failed to report the unearned compensation to the Florida Public Employee Relations Commission in mandatory filings.
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Ms Brady is further accused of using over $10,000 of the proceeds to pay personal credit card debt, in violation of federal law. Prosecutors also aim to forfeit at least $2.6 million, the alleged proceeds of the fraud.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys A. Tysen Duva and Kelly S. Milliron and was investigated by the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
