INDIANAPOLIS – A McCordsville man has been ordered to pay back more than $82,000 after being convicted of embezzling funds from an Indianapolis industrial union.
Court documents indicated Matthew Archer, 59, illegally transferred funds from an Indianapolis branch of the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) into his personal bank accounts. Archer served as the union’s treasurer from 2006 to 2019, and his criminal activity took place between 2013 to 2019.
The U.S. Department of Justice’s Southern District of Indiana said Archer used some of the money to pay for his personal car loan and also submitted fraudulent Labor Organization Annual Reports to the Department of Labor. On the forms, Archer would overstate how much money was in the union’s bank account. Specifically, he said the the union had $115,000 available, when it really had less than $11,000.
“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.
Archer covered up his embezzling by creating fake bank statements and forging signatures of the union’s auditors on internal reports.
In total, he stole $91,951.86 from the Union. Archer has been ordered to pay $82,462.02 in restitution.
“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,” Ireland continued.
The U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards, investigated this case.
