Metro Detroit Union President Steals $58K From Funds; Spent Money On Trips, Shopping: Feds

YPSILANTI, MI — A former metro Detroit union president stole more than $58,000 in union funds to pay for lavish vacations and shopping sprees, according to federal officials.

Dilanjan Miller, 37, pleaded guilty to bank fraud, the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Michigan announced Monday in a news release.

He faces up to 30 years in prison. Prosecutors did not say when he is scheduled to be sentenced.

"Dilanjan Miller violated the trust placed in him to be a good steward of union funds by embezzling over $58,000 from Steelworkers Local 2513 that should have been used for its members’ benefit," District Director U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Labor-Management Standards Thomas Murray said.

Miller was the former president of the Ypsilanti Steelworkers International Union Local 2513, which represented machine operators, inspectors, stock chasers and rackers at Marsh Plating in Ypsilanti, according to federal officials.

He was elected president in April 2018 and assumed all financial duties as acting financial secretary and treasurer, according to federal officials.

In that role, federal officials said Miller stole $47,347 in union funds by writing 38 checks to himself and forging the signature of the second signatory on 20 of those checks.

He also wrote four checks made payable to a family member and made two cash withdrawals from the union’s bank account, according to federal officials.

Additionally, federal officials said Miller used the union’s Bank of Ann Arbor debit card as his own personal debit card.

He used the debit card to make least 184 personal purchases that totaled $11,259, including flights to Florida, Las Vegas and Atlanta, hotel rooms, cars rentals and purchases at a jewelry store and several footwear shops, according to federal officials.

Officials terminated the local union after investigators busted the scheme. Union members were moved to USW Local 2659.

"Union officials are expected to serve with integrity," U.S. Atorney Dawn N. Ison said. "This prosecution demonstrates that we will not tolerate union officers who abuse their authority and line their own pockets at the expense of the union’s membership."