Top LAFD Alliance officials have been suspended after auditing flags of $800,000 credit card spending
The president of the Los Angeles Fire Department union and two other senior officials were suspended Monday after a survey by the alliance’s parents organisation found $800,000 in credit card purchases that were not properly considered.
International Association. Firefighters who oversee the City of Los Angeles United Firefighters and other local fire workers unions nationwide have suspended shares of President Freddy Escobar and two others, according to a letter from IAFF President Edward Kelly, a firefighter who oversees Los Angeles United Firefighters and other local firefighters union nationwide, suspending stakes in President Freddy Escobar and two others, a variety of financial misconduct, including “serious problems” that were not received in the receipt.
Kelly wrote that the IAFF appointed a protector to take over the union to “restore responsible financial management and ensure the legal objectives of UFLAC”.
Kelly added: “UFLAC leadership retired its fiduciary responsibilities and placed local 112 on charges. Financial malfeasance at Ulfrak leadership has seriously harmed members.”
This dramatic move is underway after a widespread audit of UFLAC finance showed different kinds of financial misconduct.
The audit found that from July 2018 to November 2024, Escobar launched 1,957 transactions on his UFLAC credit card, totaling $311,497.58, the letter said. More than 70% of these transactions (total $230,466) have no supported documents.
“The auditors were unable to determine the purpose of these transactions,” Kelly wrote in the letter, adding that the other 157 transactions (a total of $35,397) were only partially supported by the required documents.
“This means it is impossible to determine whether the $265,862.34 dues spent by President Escobar without documents is a legal union expenditure,” the letter said.
Escobar did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The audit found that two others – former secretary Adam Walker and former finance minister Domingo Albarran Jr., had a total of more than $530,000 in credit card transactions, with no receipts or only partial records. Walker did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and Albaran declined to comment.
Vice Presidents Chuong Ho and Doug Coates were also suspended and charged with breach of trust duties for “failure to implement UFLAC policies.” No immediate response to a request for comment.
“Protecting member contributions to local unions is one of the highest priorities for all local union officials,” Kelly wrote. “In fact, local union officials assume legal liability, called trust obligations, to ensure that your dues are spent in your best interest and in the way you can track. This is so you know exactly how your dues are spent on money.”
The investigation began last October when Jason Powell, the league's new treasurer, raised concerns about the IAFF about alleged mispreservation and use of union funds.
The Times first reported Walker's suspension in an audit, who was accused of depositing more than $75,000 in funds from union charities from December 2022 to January 2024 to January 2024.
Walker previously told the Times that the allegations were wrong. He said the accounts he drew from him were not for the charity, the UFLAC Fire Foundation, but for two golf games to raise funds for former firefighters with disabilities. Walker said all deposits were reimbursed for his legal out-of-pocket expenses for the tournament.
The letter said the IAFF investigation found that Walker immediately paid the mortgage and RV loan payments after removing large sums from his personal account from the charity’s account and made cash ATM withdrawals at the casino.
The news follows the Times investigation, which found that Escobar and other senior union officials have been paying for overtime for years, while also collecting five to six-figure union allowances.
Escobar made about $540,000 in 2022, the latest record of his city and union income. Salary data shows that his base salary was $184,034, and his overtime pay was $184,034 that year, and his salary and benefits received from New York City totaled more than $424,500.
He charged an additional $115,962 in stipend from the union, according to his latest federal tax filing. He reported working 48 hours a week, responsible for unions and related responsibilities, while the city provided records for the year that averaged about 30 hours of overtime per week, totaling about 78 hours a week.
