Top LAFD union officers suspended after audit flags $800,000 in credit card spending
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The president and two other top officers of the Los Angeles Fire Department’s labor union were suspended from their posts Monday after an investigation by the union’s parent organization found $800,000 in credit card purchases that were not properly documented.
The International Assn. of Fire Fighters, which oversees the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City and other local firefighter unions across the country, suspended President Freddy Escobar and the two others over financial improprieties, including “serious problems” with missing receipts, according to a letter to UFLAC members from IAFF General President Edward Kelly.
The IAFF appointed a conservator, John Bagala, to take over the union and “restore responsible financial stewardship and guarantee the fulfillment of UFLAC’s legitimate objectives,” Kelly wrote. Bagala is a state representative for the IAFF and president of Marin Professional Firefighters, IAFF Local 1775, which represents firefighters in Marin County.
“The leadership of UFLAC has abdicated its fiduciary responsibilities and placed Local 112 in ill repute. The financial malpractice by the leadership of UFLAC has dealt serious harm to the membership,” Kelly added.
The dramatic move came after a wide-ranging audit of UFLAC’s finances revealed a variety of financial improprieties. It also followed Times reports about the audit as well as massive overtime payments to Escobar and other union officials.
The audit found that from July 2018 through November 2024, Escobar initiated 1,957 transactions on his UFLAC credit card, totaling $311,498, the letter said. More than 70% of those transactions — amounting to $230,466 — had no supporting documentation.
Freddy Escobar made nearly $540,000 in 2022. He doubled his base salary with overtime payouts, earning a total of more than $424,000 from the city while collecting an additional $115,000 from the union.
“The auditors could not ascertain the purpose of these transactions,” Kelly wrote in the letter. He added that an additional 157 transactions — amounting to $35,397 — were only partially supported by required documentation.
“This means there is no way to determine whether $265,862.34 in dues money spent by President Escobar without documentation was for legitimate union expenditures,” 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 Treasurer Domingo Albarran Jr. — together had more than $530,000 in credit card transactions with no receipts or partial documentation. Walker did not immediately respond to a request for comment and Albarran declined to comment.
Vice Presidents Chuong Ho and Doug Coates also were suspended and accused of breaching their fiduciary duties in “failing to enforce UFLAC policy.” Neither immediately responded to a request for comment.
“Protecting the dues money that members contribute to their Local union is one of the highest priorities for all Local union officers,” Kelly wrote. “In fact, Local union officers have a legal responsibility, called a fiduciary duty, to ensure that your dues are spent in your best interests and in a manner you can track. This is so you know exactly how your dues money is being spent.”
The investigation began in October when UFLAC’s new treasurer, Jason Powell, raised concerns to the IAFF about alleged improper recordkeeping and use of union funds.
“It’s just unfortunate but we will get through these difficult times,” Powell told The Times on Monday. “This does not represent the people that are part of this great organization. ... Challenges like this will make us better in the future.”
Accounting problems already had been flagged by different auditors for UFLAC, who in March 2024 highlighted “significant deficiencies” in the union’s financial practices because officers were failing to properly document their expenditures.
Despite that warning, Escobar made 339 transactions in 2024 using his UFLAC credit card — for a total of $71,671 — without submitting a single receipt, Kelly wrote.
“Furthermore, the UFLAC Executive Board failed to compel President Escobar to comply with UFLAC Policy, legal requirements, or the auditors’ demands, or take action against him when he failed to comply,” he wrote.
He added that Bagala will work with IAFF General Secretary-Treasurer Frank Líma and the remaining UFLAC board members to run the union, properly manage its finances and implement safeguards for the spending of union dues.
The International Assn. of Fire Fighters late last year suspended Adam Walker from the influential office of secretary of UFLAC and accused him of improperly depositing about $75,000 into his personal accounts, internal IAFF records show.
The Times reported in March that the IAFF audit was in progress and also reported details on Walker’s suspension over allegations that he improperly deposited $83,414 from the union’s charity for injured firefighters into his personal accounts from October 2022 to September 2024.
Walker previously told The Times that the allegations were false. He said the account he drew from was not for the charity, the UFLAC Fire Foundation, but was set up for two golf tournaments to raise money for a disabled former firefighter. He said all of the deposits were reimbursements for his legitimate out-of-pocket expenses for the tournaments.
The IAFF investigation, however, found that immediately after moving large sums of money out of the charity’s account into his personal accounts, Walker paid his mortgage and RV loan payments, and made cash ATM withdrawals at casinos.
Last month, a Times investigation found that Escobar and other top union officers have for years been padding their paychecks with overtime while also collecting five- to six-figure union stipends.
Escobar made about $540,000 in 2022, the most recent year for which records of both his city and union earnings are available. He more than doubled his base salary of $184,034 with overtime payouts that year, earning more than $424,500 from the city in pay and benefits, payroll data show.
He collected an additional $115,962 stipend from the union, according to its most recent federal tax filing. He reported working 48 hours a week on union and related duties, while records provided by the city for that year show he picked up an average of roughly 30 hours of overtime a week — a total of about 78 hours of work each week.
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