The Duval Teachers United building on July 27, 2025 | Jessica Palombo, Jacksonville Today
Published on July 27, 2025 at 6:39 pm
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Ruby George, the former vice president of Duval Teachers United who was charged late last year with fraud, is scheduled to plead guilty at a hearing in federal court next Monday, Aug. 4, according to federal court records.
According to federal prosecutors, George and her co-defendant, former DTU President Teresa “Terrie” Brady, are alleged to have stolen more than $1.2 million from the union through a scheme that involved cashing in unearned leave time. They both initially pleaded not guilty.
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It’s unclear why George, 82, plans to change her plea, and her attorney, Reid Hart, did not respond with comment before this story’s publication.
Local criminal defense attorney Patrick Korody, who is not connected to the case, says there’s a short list of reasons why a defendant might change a plea. Typically, it means the prosecutor offered some kind of incentive — a lesser sentence, for example, or dropping some charges.
In a case with more than one defendant, a move by one person to change their plea can sometimes mean they’ve agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in the case against their co-defendant, but Korody said there is no way to know if that is the case for George at this point.
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Brady’s attorney, Hank Coxe, also did not respond before this story’s publication.
DTU is the main teachers’ union in Duval County, representing about 6,500 of Duval Schools’ teachers — or about 80% of the district’s eligible employees, according to the federal indictment.
