Former Union Boss Sentenced to Jail in Scheme to Defraud Non-Profit Group

Alejandro Stephens, 66, the former president of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 660 was sentenced today to four months in prison and three additional months of home confinement for his role in a scheme to defraud a non-profit organization called the Voter Improvement Project or “VIP” out of $52,000.

VIP was formed by the late head of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, ostensibly to participate in non-partisan voter outreach, education, and registration programs.

The scheme involved VIP entering into bogus consulting agreements with Stephens and various of Stephens’ friends and family members. VIP would then pay the phony consultants for work they never did. In many instances, the alleged consultants had never even heard of VIP let alone done work for it. The phony consultants would, in turn, hand the money over to Stephens.

Pursuant to a plea agreement with the government, on September 24, 2009 Stephens pleaded guilty to mail fraud and tax evasion. The latter tax evasion charge stemmed from Stephens failure to report the $52,000 stolen from VIP on his 2004 federal income tax returns.

At sentencing, Stephens admitted for the first time that he had used the money taken from VIP for his 2004 SEIU Local 660 re-election campaign.

The Stephens prosecution resulted from a joint investigation involving the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Internal Revenue Service.