Former Secretary-Treasurer Of Labor Union Charged With Filing False Report With Department Of Labor

Joshua Lewis, 33, of St. Louis, Missouri, was indicted by a federal grand jury in East St. Louis, Illinois, on November 19, 2015, for filing a false report with the Department of Labor, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today. The indictment alleges that Lewis was the secretary-treasurer for the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division (BMWED) Lodge 212 from December 2011 until September 2012. The indictment alleges that during the time that Lewis served as Treasurer he converted to his own use, without authority, union funds in excess of $3,000. The indictment alleges that Lewis filed a false annual report for the union with the Department of Labor that falsely reported that he did not receive any union funds during the fiscal year ending March 31, 2014. The submission of the false annual financial report concealed the funds Lewis converted from the union. Lewis faces a prison sentence of up to 1 year, a fine of up to $100,000, and up to 1 year supervised release if convicted of the charge.

An indictment is a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of a charge until proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of a jury.

The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor Management Standards, with the assistance of the labor union. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Norman R. Smith.