BIRMINGHAM – In a shocking case of corruption, Michael Lackey, 44, former president of the Communications Workers of America, Local 3901, in Oxford, Ala., pleaded guilty today in federal court to a scheme to embezzle more than $69,000 from the local chapter.
Lackey, of Bremen, Ga., entered his guilty plea to five counts of bank fraud and one count of embezzlement and theft of union funds before U.S. District Judge Virginia Emerson Hopkins. A federal grand jury indicted Lackey in November.
As part of his plea, Lackey agreed to repay $69,193 to the union and to forfeit that same amount to the government as proceeds of illegal activity. Lackey is scheduled for sentencing April 25.
Local 3901 members elected Lackey president in October 2008 and he remained in that position until October 2014. As president, Lackey exercised control over the local’s finances, including its accounts at Wells Fargo and Regions banks.
According to his plea agreement with the government, Lackey executed a scheme to defraud the banks and Local 3901 between February 2010 and October 2014 by using his position as Local 3901 president, and acting treasurer, to conduct unauthorized transactions to take money from the CWA local’s bank accounts and use it for his personal benefit.
The checks he wrote to himself from union funds totaled about $26,519; the cash withdrawals and personal expenditures he made with the union’s debit cards totaled about $14,095; counter cash withdrawals totaled about $16,032; personal power bill payments totaled about $3,092; personal loan payments totaled about $7,201; and accumulated bank fees totaled about $2,251, for a total embezzlement of $69,193.
The maximum penalty for bank fraud is 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty for embezzlement is five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
The U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards, investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Xavier O. Carter Sr. is prosecuting.
Investigator Hollis Lindley Jr. with the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards, praised the work of federal agents and prosecutors in bringing this case to justice.
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Key Facts
- State: Alabama
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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