An Oregon woman has been handed a sentence of two years' probation for pilfering nearly $40,000 from a labor union, authorities said. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, 61-year-old Andrea Anderson, who lived in Middleborough before, was also ordered by U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris to write a big check for restitution and forfeiture to the tune of $30,316. Anderson had entered a guilty plea in October 2023 to a single charge of embezzling from a labor union.
From her father's garage, where the union office for the Brotherhood of Shoe and Allied Craftsman was located, Anderson worked part-time and oversaw administrative tasks. As an employee, she held the purse strings, wielding both pen and plastic, in the form of checks and a union debit card. As she managed the financial duties like signing checks, secretarial work, and bill payments for BSAC, Anderson siphoned a total of $39,169 from the union coffers, officials detailed. She repaid some $8,000, but that still left the union short by $30,316.
The case against Anderson was announced by Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jonathan Russo, the District Director of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards. "The defendant abused her position of trust to enrich herself at the expense of the union and its members," stated Acting U.S. Attorney Levy in a release. the U.S. Attorney's Office reported.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura J. Kaplan, of the Criminal Division, had the case prosecuted while being appreciated for their tireless work. The authorities have not disclosed whether Anderson has made any further efforts to reimburse the union beyond her initial restitution. However, as part of her sentencing, her responsibility to do so is mandated by the federal judge's order.
