Barstow man to do jail time for embezzling union funds

BARSTOW • A Barstow man who pleaded guilty in June to embezzling about $93,000 from a local union was sentenced Monday to serve one year in federal prison and pay a restitution of about $107,750.

James L. Miles, 70, who was once the financial secretary for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1023, was ordered to pay $93,283 to the union, which represents about 180 BNSF employees in Barstow. He is also ordered to pay $14,466 in taxes to the Internal Revenue Service. Miles was sentenced at the Riverside Federal Courthouse.

In June, Miles admitted to embezzling more than $93,000 between January 2003 and June 2007. He issued and signed more than 350 checks from the union’s bank account without authorization. Miles also used union funds to pay his mortgage, homeowner’s insurance and other personal expenses.

Miles became financial secretary for Local 1023 in 2000, said Union President Gilbert Duran. During an audit of the books, union officials found out that Miles had a second set of books. When he quit in 2007, local union officials became suspicious. An investigation was held by international union officials and the Department of Labor, Duran said. The IRS also investigated the case.

“International found only one culprit, which was Jim Miles,” Duran said. “He had just conned everybody. The biggest thing he harmed was the people. They trusted him and he betrayed their trust.”

Miles also pleaded guilty in June to one count of filing a false income tax return that failed to report the embezzled income to the IRS. His defense attorney could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

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(760) 256-4123 or jcejnar@desertdispatch.com