Ex-officer For L.a. Firefighters Union Charged With Stealing From Charity

A erstwhile apical serviceman of nan Los Angeles Fire Department’s labour national was arrested Wednesday and charged pinch expansive theft and forgery for allegedly stealing much than $82,000 from a kindness for injured firefighters.

Prosecutors from nan authorities lawyer general’s agency announced nan charges against Adam Walker, erstwhile caput of nan United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, astatine a news conference.

Walker “abused a position of spot for individual gain,” Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said alongside Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman.

Walker opened a instauration slope relationship and transferred costs to his individual accounts, Bonta said, attempting to conceal those transfers pinch clone reimbursement records and forging receipts to mislead auditors. He utilized nan costs for individual expenses, including online gambling, Bonta said.

Walker has been nether scrutiny since 2024, erstwhile nan section union’s genitor organization, nan International Assn. of Fire Fighters, suspended him from his national position and accused him of improperly depositing much than $75,000 of nan charity’s costs into his individual accounts from December 2022 to January 2024. The IAFF accused him of utilizing $5,000 for individual expenses.

Walker, who continued to activity arsenic a firefighter, told The Times past twelvemonth that those allegations were false. He said nan relationship he drew from was not for nan charity, nan UFLAC Fire Foundation, but was group up for 2 play tournaments to raise money for a abnormal erstwhile firefighter. He said each of nan deposits were reimbursements for his morganatic out-of-pocket expenses for nan tournaments.

“Not 1 penny of nan money was instauration money,” he said. He said he understood that nan deposits “look bad” but were a reflection of his “poor bookkeeping” and not immoderate wrongdoing.

The Washington D.C.-based IAFF besides suspended Walker from his positions arsenic president and head of nan foundation, which immunodeficiency injured firefighters and their families, provides scholarships and is helping firefighters who mislaid their homes successful nan January fires.