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The parent organization of the Los Angeles Fire Department’s union has doubled allegations that the union’s top officials failed to properly record hundreds of thousands of dollars in credit card transactions.
International assn. The firefighter who oversees United Firefighters in Los Angeles last month suspended President Freddie Escobar and two other union staff, and suspended “serious issues” that lost receipts identified in a wide range of audits dating back to 2018.
Auditors revisited the findings after Escobar appeared at UFLAC headquarters (News Camera) last month with a thumb drive and a stack of copy receipts he claimed to clear him.
In a letter reviewed by The Times last week, an IAFF auditor concluded that even with new material, Escobar failed to properly document credit card costs of more than $212,000. They said that full access to UFLAC’s internal cost system has not been provided due to the initial report, and that Escobar has been engaged in “gusts of activity” to adjust transactions in recent months. A few months after the auditor left the UFLAC office in December 2024, Escobar emailed his staff and overseen them to look for a lack of receipts.
“Escobar has worked tirelessly to adjust some of his past credit card spending, with the support of UFLAC staff,” IAFF President Edward Kelly and Secretary of General Affairs Frank Lima told local union members in a memo this week.
Of the 1,974 Escobar credit card transactions, only the value of the total total of $312,985, $889, or $100,824 of the auditors reviewed, was fully documented for receipts and business purposes, the auditor’s letter states.
The initial audit found that 1,957 of these orchid effects reached $311,498, with only $428 ($45,635 being well documented).
“The conclusions stated in the May 1, 2025 audit report remain the same,” the auditor wrote in the letter. “It appears that Escobar has repeatedly failed to comply with his fiduciary duties and obligations, and proper management was not in place to comply with state and federal laws and regulations, as well as UFLAC’s policies regarding UFLAC fund’s expenses reimbursement and expenditure through lack of receipts and documentation of business purposes.”
Neither Escobar nor his lawyers immediately provided comment.
The first audit also found that two other UFLAC staffers (former secretary Adam Walker and former treasurer Domingo Albalan Jr.) joined in to make credit card transactions of more than $530,000 without receipts or partial documents.
The auditor did not review these findings in the new report.
The UFLAC policy requires a receipt for all credit card spending, along with an explanation of the expenses, including the name that exists and business reasons.
Vice Presidents Truong Ho and Doug Coates were also suspended and accused of violating the fiduciary’s obligations to “fail to implement UFLAC policies.”
After the audit, the IAFF appointed guardian John Bagala to take over the union and “restoring responsible financial management and ensuring the performance of the legitimate objectives of the UFLAC.”
Bagala is the state representative of IPAFF and president of Marin Professional Direfighters, a 1775 IAFAF representing Marin County firefighters.
In a statement Thursday, IAFF spokesman Ryan Heffernan said the reserve is focusing on implementing safeguards to prevent future fiscal management.
“During this temporary parent, the IAFF is focused on meeting the important needs of its members and protecting hard-earned membership money,” he said.
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