LOS ANGELES - Tyrone Ricky Freeman, the former
president of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Locals 6434 and
434-B, was convicted today of embezzling
tens of thousands of dollars from the union that represents home healthcare
workers, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Freeman, 43, who is
currently residing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was found guilty of four counts
of mail fraud, seven counts of embezzlement and/or theft of labor union assets,
one count of making a false statement to a federally insured financial
institution, and two counts of subscribing to a false tax return, officials
stated.
"This was a case about
abuse and betrayal," United States Attorney André Birotte Jr. stated in a press
release. "Freeman abused his position as
leader of the SEIU, and he betrayed the hardworking people whose interests he
was supposed to represent."
The evidence presented
during a 10-day jury trial showed that Freeman pilfered money from SEIU Locals
6434 and 434-B by diverting reimbursement payments from a public-sector union
that had close ties to the SEIU locals, federal prosecutors stated.
Freeman collected $2,500 per month from Local
6434 and the California United Homecare Workers (CUHW), which was established
in 2005 by SEIU and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal
Employees to represent public sector employees working in the homecare industry
in California.
According to federal
authorities, this is what happened:
From the beginning of
2007 through the summer of 2008, Freeman concealed from the Local 6434
Executive Board and the CUHW Executive Board that he was receiving payments of
$2,500 per month in addition to the regular salary that he received from Local
6434.
Freeman also used a
Local 434-B credit card to pay $8,105 in personal expenses he incurred during a
2006 trip to Honolulu, Hawaii, which included expenses related to Freeman's
wedding ceremony.
Freeman also stole money
from Local 6434 by routing funds through another entity closely aligned with
the union - the Long Term Care Housing Corporation (LTCHC), which was a
not-for-profit corporation organized in 2004 for the purpose of developing
affordable housing for members of Locals 6434 and Local 434-B. The indictment
alleges that Freeman took nearly $17,000 from Local 6434 in June 2008 by
requesting the Local 6434 Executive Board to make payments to LTCHC without
disclosing to the Executive Board that Freeman would then divert those funds to
himself.
The false statement
charges relate to lies that Freeman told to Countrywide Bank when he told a bank
representative that Local 6434 paid for his personal American Express credit
card debt and the monthly lease payments for his Land Rover.
Freeman was also found
guilty of subscribing to false tax returns in 2006 and 2007 when he failed to
report approximately $63,000 in income he received during those tax years.
Freeman will be sentenced
in April