More Than $190,000 in Funds
Defendant Spent Thousands on Hotel Stays, Clothing, Other Personal Expenses
WASHINGTON - JC Stamps, a former union official, pled guilty today to embezzling more than $190,000 from two labor organizations he founded and an employee benefits fund.
The guilty plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Bill Jones,Special Agent in Charge for the Washington Region of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General - Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations.
Stamps, 67, of Upper Marlboro, Md., pled guilty to one count of theft from an employee benefit plan. The Honorable Chief Judge Richard W. Roberts scheduled sentencing for Sept. 17, 2014. The charge carries a statutory maximum of five years in prison and potential financial penalties. Under federal sentencing guidelines, Stamps faces a likely range of 18 to 24 months in prison and a fine of up to $40,000. He also has agreed to pay $194,611 in restitution and is subject to a forfeiture money judgment in the amount of $84,745.
Stamps, a retired detective from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), founded two labor organizations based in Washington, D.C.: the National Union of Protective Services Associations, which represented private security guards, and the National Union of Law Enforcement Associations, which represented police officers. In addition, he founded a security guard firm, Stamps Associates, which also was based in Washington, D.C.
According to a statement of offense, signed by the defendant as well as the government, between 2004 and 2008, Stamps devised a scheme to defraud and embezzle money in several ways from the unions and the National Union of Protective Services Health and Welfare Fund.
In 2007 and 2008, for example, Stamps used money from the health and welfare fund’s bank account to pay American Express for a total of $48,541 in credit card charges for personal purchases and union expenses. None of these charges were related to the administration and operation of the health and welfare fund. Instead they paid for personal expenses, such as hotel stays, furniture, men’s fragrances, clothing, other retail purchases, and online services, as well as for union expenses, including hotel rental (for a holiday party) and automobile rentals.
Also, according to the statement of offense, from 2006 to 2008, Stamps caused the withdrawal of $36,203 from the health and welfare fund bank account to pay an attorney for legal expenses incurred by the unions - and not for the fund’s intended purpose.
In addition to the theft and embezzlement from the health and welfare fund, Stamps stole and embezzled at least $109,866 from the unions from 2004 to 2008. According to the statement of offense, more than half of this money was used to cover debts of Stamps Associates, the security guard company. Other money was used for personal expenses and fraudulent salary payments to an individual identified only as “Person A" in the court documents. “Person A," who is described in the statement of offense as a close personal friend of Stamps, was nominally the sole owner of Stamps Associates, although Stamps controlled the company.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General, as well as the Labor Department’s Office of Labor Management Standards and Employee Benefits Security Administration. Assistance was provided by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Saler, who is handling forfeiture issues; Paralegal Specialist Donna Galindo; former Paralegal Specialists Shanna Hays, Lenisse Edloe, and Nicole Wattelet, all of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ellen Chubin Epstein of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and Trial Attorney Kelly Pearson of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime and Gang Section.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
