Former IT director is sentenced to 5 years in prison

Front firms run under alias siphoned millions from union based in Alameda to buy land, build house

OAKLAND >> A senior district judge sentenced a Texas resident to five years in prison Tuesday for embezzling $4 million from an Alamedabased union’s coffers, the U.S. Justice Department said.

In a statement, the department said Judge Jeffrey White handed down the sentence after a July 6 guilty plea by Scott Wilson, 54, who moved from Tracy to Texas in 2017.

According to his plea agreement, Wilson, the former director of Operating Engineers Local No. 3’s information technology department, admitted that from 2011 to 2017, he set up a front company using the alias John Lasson to receive union funds both directly and then through front firms he directed a relative and a friend to create.

Over time, he billed the union some $3,980,000 for goods and services that were never provided, collecting funds through the front company and through kickbacks from the other front firms. He then used the firms to make payments out of union funds to his friend and his relative for undone work.

At one point, Wilson arranged for funds’ delivery in the form of wrapped cash bundles, authorities said. Wilson received an estimated $2.44 million, some of which funded the purchase of land in Corsicana, Texas, as well as construction of a house.

In statements Tuesday, one official decried Wilson’s actions.

“Scott Wilson abused his authority as the IT director of the Operating Engineers Local 3 by creating a complex scheme to steal millions of dollars in union funds,” Special Agent-inCharge Quentin Heiden said. “Today’s sentencing affirms the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General’s commitment to safeguard union funds from those who seek to enrich themselves at the expense of union members.”

After an investigation led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Labor Department Office of Inspector General, Wilson pleaded guilty to a single count of embezzlement of labor organization assets. Judge White noted during sentencing that Wilson made multiple decisions as part of the crime, including efforts to conceal his actions.

White also ordered Wilson to report for prison on or before Jan. 3, pay total restitution of $4,669,577 and serve a three-year supervised-release term after his prison sentence has ended.