Duval Teachers United President Teresa Brady speaks with School Board members in 2017. | Duval County Public Schools
Published on January 13, 2025 at 6:06 pm
Free local news and info, in your inbox at 6 a.m. M-F. Sign up for the Jacksonville Today newsletter.
The former president and vice president of Duval Teachers United are each alleged to have stolen more than $1.2 million from the union over a decade, according to an indictment unsealed Monday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Investigators allege they did this in part by cashing in leave time they had not earned.
Teresa Brady, 69, and Ruby George, 81, face charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, eight counts of aiding and abetting wire fraud, and three counts of aiding and abetting mail fraud. Additionally, Brady, the former union president, was charged with two counts of money laundering.
Jacksonville Today thanks our sponsors. Become one.
According to the indictment, between 2013 and 2022, Brady and George conspired to sell back leave time they had not accrued, paid each other bonuses not approved by the organization’s board, and reimbursed each other for expenses they didn’t incur. They then signed each other’s checks for the transactions and hid the payments from the organization’s volunteer treasurer.
The indictment also alleges that Brady used almost $44,000 of the money to pay personal credit card debt.
Brady and George both received salaries from the union and accrued 42 leave days each year. Unused leave was eligible to roll over each year and was not capped.
Jacksonville Today thanks our sponsors. Become one.
The indictment alleges that the women told the board they had accumulated enough leave to become a liability to the union and they needed to sell the leave back — when they didn’t actually have leave balances as high as what they claimed.
The eight counts of aiding and abetting wire fraud correspond to banking transactions listed in the indictment, where Brady and George cashed large checks from the union and deposited them into their personal bank accounts.
Brady cashed a check for $39,189.08 in February 2020, for example, and George cashed one two days later for $37,887.83. The deposits listed in the indictment stretch from 2020 through 2022 and total almost $184,000.
The mail fraud charges relate to falsified financial statements Brady and George are accused of providing to the Florida Public Employees Relations Commission, which might otherwise have seen the unusually large payments made to the union officers.
FBI and IRS agents raided the teachers union offices on Atlantic Boulevard in September 2023 and removed boxes of financial records and computer equipment. Through a records request, Jacksonville Today determined last fall that the FBI was actively investigating the union, but the FBI did not provide details.
Duval Teachers United has about 6,500 members and annual revenue of about $5 million.
If convicted, Brady and George face up to 20 years in prison for each count. Brady faces an additional 10 years for each money laundering count.
