A Hancock County man has been convicted in federal court of wire fraud.
According to court documents, from 2006 to December of 2019, Matthew Archer, 59, of Mccordsville, served as the treasurer for an industrial union (the Union) located in Indianapolis. As part of his employment, Archer was responsible for maintaining the Union’s bank accounts and records.
On multiple occasions between 2013 and 2019, Archer illegally transferred funds from the Union’s bank account into his personal bank accounts. Between 2017 and 2019, Archer also electronically transferred funds from the Union’s bank account into his own to pay his personal car loan.
Additionally, in 2018 and 2019, Archer submitted fraudulent Labor Organization Annual Reports to the Department of Labor. On these forms, Archer falsely reported the Union’s assets and overstated how much money was in its bank account. On both occasions, Archer reported that the Union had $151,000 available when it actually had less than $11,000.
To conceal his scheme, Archer created fraudulent bank statements that overstated how much money was in the Union’s accounts and forged the signatures of the Union’s auditors on internal reports.
In total, Archer embezzled $91,951.86 from the Union, and has been ordered to repay the stolen funds as restitution.
“For years, this defendant lied and abused his position of trust to line his own pockets at the expense of the union and members he was supposed to serve,” said Zachary A. Myers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “This prosecution demonstrates that the Department of Labor and the U.S. Attorney’s Office are watching, and those who embezzle funds will be held accountable.”
“Safeguarding financial integrity and combating fraud in labor unions is a high priority for the U.S. Department of Labor,” said Megan Ireland, District Director, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards. “Most union officials do their work with great care, but Matthew Archer betrayed the trust placed in him by the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) and embezzled over $91,000 from LIUNA Local 1325, at the expense of LIUNA and its members. OLMS continuously works to identify criminal violations and pursue legal action when individuals unlawfully exploit their union positions without regard to the best interests of the union and its members.”
The U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards, investigated this case. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Jane Magnus Stinson.
