United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg has announced the unsealing of an indictment against Teresa Brady (69) and Ruby George (81), who were the former President and Executive Vice President of the public school teachers Union: Duval Teachers United (DTU).
Brady and George are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, alongside eight counts of aiding and abetting wire fraud and three counts of aiding and abetting mail fraud.
Additionally, Brady faces two counts of money laundering. If convicted of conspiracy, wire fraud, and mail fraud, both Brady and George could face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count. Additionally, Brady faces a maximum penalty of 10 years for each count of money laundering.
The indictment informs Brady and George that the U.S. intends to forfeit at least $2,600,235.99, alleged to be fraud proceeds. Brady and George represented Duval County Public Schools personnel served as President and Executive Vice President of Duval Teachers United.
DTU has about 6,500 members and speaks for around 80 percent of the eligible employees in the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). Each year, DTU brings in around $5 million in revenue, which mostly comes from the fees paid by its members.
The federal indictment alleges that from 2013 to 2022, Brady and George conspired to fraudulently obtain over $1.2 million from the DTU by selling back unearned leave time. They reportedly concealed this by providing false information to auditors and signing each other’s checks to hide the payments from the DTU Secretary/Treasurer.
The indictment further alleges that Brady and George 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 is alleged to have used the proceeds from fraudulent activities to engage in two monetary transactions exceeding $10,000 for the purpose of paying personal credit card debt.
An indictment serves as a formal charge indicating that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and it is important to note that every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
