South Charleston Woman Pleads Guilty to Embezzling $183,667.11

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South Charleston Woman Pleads Guilty to Embezzling $183,667.11

A South Charleston woman has pleaded guilty to embezzling over $183,000 from the Charleston Building and Construction Trades Council between 2010 and 2014. Joan Matthews, 70, faces up to five years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, 3 years of supervised release and a $100 special assessment when she is scheduled to be sentenced on September 11, 2018. She will also owe restitution in an amount up to $183,667.11.

According to the investigation, Matthews used her position as a bookkeeper to steal from the union for four years. She would prepare and cash unauthorized union checks, use union funds to pay credit card bills, and make personal charges to the CBCTC credit cards.

Matthews admitted to the Court that she began embezzling CBCTC union monies in 2010. Her embezzlement continued until September 2014 when her crimes were discovered by other union employees.

“Matthews used her position to steal from her employer for four years,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “My Office takes cases like this very seriously and we will prosecute embezzlers to the fullest extent of the law.”

The Charleston Building and Construction Trades Council is chartered by the Building and Construction Trades Department of the AFL-CIO and has jurisdiction over local construction unions, and unions in the building and trades industries throughout West Virginia. Assistant United States Attorney Erik S. Goes is in charge of the prosecution. United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. conducted the plea hearing.

Matthews is no longer employed by the CBCTC. The case serves as a reminder that embezzlement will be taken seriously and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office commends the investigative efforts of the United States Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards for their work in bringing this case to justice.