Two former leaders of a Cuyahoga County public employee union are facing federal charges after prosecutors say they siphoned union funds through unauthorized casino ATM withdrawals, a bogus check, and a falsified financial report over several years. Pamela Brown, the former president of AFSCME Local 1746, and Adelle Burrell-Williams, the union's former secretary-treasurer, were each charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud in federal court in Cleveland.
According to cleveland.com, the two women embarked on an embezzlement scheme running from 2017 to 2022 while overseeing the union's bank accounts and financial records. Prosecutors filed the charges by way of information rather than a grand jury indictment, a move that typically indicates a defendant intends to plead guilty; no arraignment date has been set. Brown, who was hired by Cuyahoga County in 1989 and led the local from 1997 to 2021, drew a $64,000 annual county salary during her tenure. Burrell-Williams, hired by the county in 1997 and working as a family services specialist, was paid $51,500 annually and served as union secretary from 2016 until April 2023 while also logging 15 hours a week of union work.
Court filings describe unauthorized transactions totaling about $2,800. Burrell-Williams allegedly withdrew roughly $1,010 across two ATM trips at the same unnamed casino between December 2021 and April 2022, and wrote herself an unauthorized $948 check on December 23, 2021, with the memo line listing it as covering “covid cleaning” before depositing it into her personal bank account. Brown, separately, is accused of withdrawing about $910 across two ATM trips at an unnamed casino in August and September 2020. Both women obtained a union debit card despite union rules that prohibited its use, and both failed to return the card afterward, per the report.
How the Scheme Allegedly Stayed Hidden
To help cover the tracks, Burrell-Williams is accused of creating a fake April 2022 financial income and expense report the following month that omitted $2,268 in unauthorized ATM purchases. Prosecutors say the pair then spent the embezzled money on personal expenses rather than union business.
The case traces back to internal alarm bells raised by rank-and-file members. AFSCME Ohio Council 8 launched an internal audit and cooperated with the federal investigation that ultimately produced the charges. Council 8 President R. Sean Grayson said union members deserve to know their local union resources are protected.
A Union Built Around Frontline County Workers
AFSCME Local 1746 represents roughly 1,200 Cuyahoga County employees, drawing its membership from the Department of Children and Family Services, Job and Family Services, and Senior and Adult Services. Brown's long tenure atop the union dated back further than the current charges suggest; the cited AFL-CIO archival record dates to 2001.
The financial concerns did not surface in isolation. In December 2023, Cleveland Scene reported that the U.S. Department of Labor had opened an investigation into the local after members discovered roughly $158,000 in missing funds from 2021 and 2022, a discovery that prompted leadership suspensions and internal audits well before the criminal charges were filed. That earlier reporting noted concerns over unaccounted funds, with audits following before the criminal charges were filed.
Wage Fights and Staffing Shortages in the Background
The alleged misconduct unfolded as Local 1746 members were simultaneously pushing for better working conditions. In September 2023, social workers and Council 8 leaders organized demonstrations at the Jane Edna Hunter Social Services center over unsafe conditions, according to footage of the rallies. By January 2024, the union had successfully negotiated contract revisions raising starting wages for Cuyahoga County child welfare social workers from $16.35 to $19.25 per hour, per Signal Cleveland. The agreements address pay, cost-of-living adjustments, and health benefits.
Local 1746 and its parent Council 8 are unions. The charges involve wire fraud and conspiracy. The case adds to a string of recent scrutiny facing Cuyahoga County institutions, including lapsed lead removal funds and a $100,000 settlement involving Cuyahoga County, MetroHealth and a county jail overdose-death lawsuit.
