Byron Clemons Sr, a former president of the Alton chapter of the AFSCME labor union, was caught embezzling more than $200,000 and admitted to transporting the stolen money.
Clemons, 35, pleaded guilty on April 11 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois to one count of Interstate Transportation of Stolen Money.
Sentencing is scheduled for July 20 at 1:30 p.m. before District Judge Staci Yandle in Benton.
Clemons could be imprisoned for up to 24 months and/or be fined up to $75,000, according to the plea agreement.
“Defendant agrees that because the offense he is pleading guilty to arises from his embezzlement of funds from AFSCME Local 124, Section 504 will prohibit him from serving in any capacity with any labor union in the future,” the agreement states. “Defendant further agrees that he will not seek any such position, nor will he accept any such position if it is offered to him, in the future.”
Clemons has been employed by the Illinois Department of Human Services since February 2008. He was president of AFSCME’s Local 124 in Alton from June 2017 through January 2022.
From February 2021 to January 2022, Clemons withdrew a total of $202,100 from the union’s U.S. Bank account.
According to court documents, Clemons first withdrew $15,000 in cash from the union on Feb. 19, 2021. He initially kept the cash at a safe in his Alton home after receiving notice that the account was going to be either closed or frozen.
Then beginning in April 2021, Clemons took $2,029.28 in cash from the safe to prevent his vehicle from being repossessed and transported $12,970.72 in cash to casinos located in eastern Missouri for gambling.
On May 8, 2021, Clemons withdrew an additional $10,000 in cash from the same bank account. He used this additional cash to gamble at casinos in an attempt to regain the $15,000 he had previously stolen.
Between May 19, 2021, and Jan. 7, 2022, he made 46 additional cash withdrawals from the Local 124 bank account. He used most of the cash to gamble at casinos and used the remainder to pay his personal expenses.
“Labor unions exist to promote the interests of the working men and women who make up their ranks. But instead of promoting the interests of his members, Clemons used his position to enrich himself and get cash to gamble at casinos,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Cutchin. “I commend the efforts of our partners at the U.S. Department of Labor for their diligent work in investigating this case and ensuring that Clemons is brought to justice.”
“Byron Clemons, Sr. personally enriched himself at the expense of dues-paying AFSCME members. Tuesday’s conviction affirms the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General’s commitment to ensuring that labor organization funds are only used for lawful purposes. We will continue working with our law enforcement partners to investigate union officials that violate the trust placed in them by the membership they are supposed to serve,” said Special Agent-In-Charge Irene Lindow, of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of the Inspector General.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Verseman is prosecuting the case.
Clemons is represented by Robert Bas.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois case number 3:23-cr-30041