FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	CONTACT: Lauren Horwood
September 2, 2011	PHONE: (916) 554-2706
www.usdoj.gov/usao/cae	usacae.edcapress@usdoj.gov
Docket #: 1:11-cr-00067-LJO

FRESNO, Calif. — United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that Tracy Ford, 47, of Stockton, pleaded guilty today to embezzling labor union assets and submitting a false financial report to the United States Secretary of the Treasury. Ford also agreed to pay full restitution and to forfeit assets totaling $174,900.

According to the plea agreement, while acting as the Secretary-Treasurer of Machinists Local Lodge 1528, in Modesto, Ford embezzled $174,900 under the guise of authorized salary and related benefits, and by using union assets to pay for health insurance for a former officer of the union. Ford then attempted to conceal the embezzlement by submitting a false annual financial report to the Secretary of Labor. Machinists Local Lodge 1528 had collective bargaining agreements with approximately 12 private employers, including Silgan Container Corporation, United Parcel Service, Interstate Brands, and International Paper Company.

This case is the product of an investigation by the United States Department of Labor Office of Labor-Management Standards. Assistant United States Attorney Mark J. McKeon is prosecuting the case.

Ford is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Lawrence J. O'Neill on January 20, 2012, at 10:00 a.m. She faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for embezzlement and one year in prison and a $100,000 fine for submitting a false financial report. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

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