A Teamsters union official was sentenced to federal prison and ordered to repay more than half the $60,000 he stole from a North Georgia local, federal prosecutors in Atlanta said Thursday.
Ryan Forbes, 36, of Cartersville served as secretary-treasurer of the the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 1129, from 2005 through 2010. During that time, prosecutors said, Forbes used a union-issued credit card for unauthorized purchases and withdrawals.
Forbes made 285 unauthorized transactions with the card. He wrote unauthorized salary checks to himself from the local’s bank account. Prosecutors said Forbes also submitted false fuel and travel claims for reimbursement.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to addressing financial abuse and embezzlement within labor organizations,” U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said in a statement. “In this case, Forbes abused his fiduciary duties and squandered the funds of his fellow union members for his own personal benefit.”
Forbes, who was convicted of the charges Aug. 28, must repay $35,925 of the embezzled funds and will be on three years’ supervised release after prison.
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