More on Washington Teachers’ Union Embezzlement Scheme

According to the U. S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards, Cheryl Martin, Michael Martin, and Leroy Holmes were sentenced last month for their roles in an embezzlement scheme which defrauded the Washington Teachers’ Union (WTU) of approximately $4.6 million.

Cheryl Martin, daughter of former WTU Executive Assistant to the President Gwendolyn Hemphill, had pled guilty on February 10, 2004, “to conspiracy to launder money for assisting her husband, Michael Martin, in laundering more than $500,000 in WTU funds, most of which was then funneled back to Hemphill and then-WTU President Barbara Bullock.”

On April 11, 2003, Michael Martin had “pled guilty to money laundering for conspiring to launder more than $500,000 in WTU funds by creating a sham third-party business, Expressions Unlimited, at the request of the WTU President and the WTU Executive Assistant. WTU funds were paid to Expressions Unlimited, which never in fact provided any services to the union, and were then funneled to the WTU President and Executive Assistant.”

Leroy Holmes, Bullock’s chauffeur, had pled guilty on February 6, 2003, “to conspiracy to launder proceeds of an unlawful activity for cashing more than $1 million in WTU checks and giving most of the proceeds to Bullock and Hemphill.”