Labor Union President Convicted of Pension Theft

Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division announced that Caleb Gray-Burriss was convicted of six counts of mail fraud, seven counts of theft from a labor organization, one count each of obstruction of justice and criminal contempt, and three counts of union recordkeeping offenses. 

According to the evidence at trial, from approximately June 2004 through February 2011, Gray-Burriss wrote numerous checks to himself or to other third parties from the NASPSO pension plan checking account. The evidence also showed that Gray-Burriss spent more than $100,000 of the pension plan funds in this way, while falsely maintaining it was an operational fund that he was properly administering and that was providing benefits to the beneficiaries. The evidence further showed that Gray-Burriss committed criminal contempt of a court order addressing his prior misappropriation of pension and health plan funds after Gray-Burriss resumed his scheme in 2009 to defraud employers and NASPSO members of pension funds.  

The jury also found that Gray-Burriss committed obstruction of justice by destroying or concealing NASPSO financial records during a grand jury investigation; failing to file required annual reports on behalf of NASPSO; falsifying those reports; and failing to maintain properly the records of NASPSO.  

Gray-Burris faces a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each of the mail fraud counts; five years in prison and a $10,000 fine on each of the theft from a labor organization and conspiracy counts; five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the criminal contempt count; 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the obstruction count; and one year in prison and a $10,000 fine for the recordkeeping offenses.