A former treasurer for a New Mexico labor organization has pleaded guilty in federal court after prosecutors say he used union funds for unauthorized personal expenses and hid the misuse through false and incomplete financial reports.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico announced that Max Jaramillo, 58, pleaded guilty to embezzlement by an officer of a labor organization.
Jaramillo served as treasurer of the National Postal Mail Handlers Union, Local 331, from 2014 through February 2024, according to federal court records cited by the Department of Justice. In that role, he was responsible for safeguarding union money and accurately reporting the labor organization’s financial activities.
Instead, prosecutors say Jaramillo used his position to take union funds for personal spending over a period stretching from January 2015 through November 2023.
Federal authorities said Jaramillo also concealed the misuse by submitting false and incomplete reports both to the U.S. Department of Labor and to the union’s own members.
One example cited by prosecutors was a March 15, 2023, annual report submitted to the Department of Labor. According to DOJ, that report falsely represented and omitted material information about how union funds had been spent.
Among the unauthorized expenses, prosecutors said Jaramillo used $49.98 in union funds on July 1, 2022, to buy himself a bottle of Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey.
The bourbon purchase is only one example identified in the DOJ announcement, but it underscores the allegation at the center of the case: money that was entrusted to a union officer for labor organization purposes was instead used for personal spending.
Jaramillo’s guilty plea marks another federal financial fraud case in New Mexico involving abuse of a position of trust. Union treasurers are expected to manage funds on behalf of members, maintain accurate records, and provide honest reporting to federal regulators and the rank-and-file workers whose dues support the organization.
In this case, prosecutors say Jaramillo violated those duties for years.
Jaramillo pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement by an officer of a labor organization. At sentencing, he faces up to 20 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
A sentencing date was not included in the DOJ announcement.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison announced the guilty plea Wednesday.
The case was investigated by the Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards, the federal agency responsible for enforcing reporting and disclosure requirements for labor organizations and protecting union funds from misuse. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico is prosecuting the case.
The DOJ announcement did not specify the total amount of union money Jaramillo admitted to embezzling. It did, however, describe a pattern of unauthorized personal spending and false reporting over nearly nine years.
For union members, the case is a reminder that financial transparency is not a technicality. It is supposed to protect workers from insiders who treat member-backed funds like personal accounts.
Jaramillo now awaits sentencing after admitting in federal court that he embezzled from the labor organization he was entrusted to help manage.