HV Man, Former Law Enforcement Union Official, Sentenced For Fraud

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — A former financial advisor and the president of a law enforcement union been sentenced to prison for stealing from its members' retirement accounts in a years-long scheme that included the union's treasurer. Two of the three conspirators are from the Hudson Valley.

The Law Enforcement Employees Benevolent Association represents some of NYC's law enforcement officers, including from the DEP and the sanitation and transportation departments.

It was founded and headed by Kenneth Wynder, Jr., a former New York State trooper. He was sentenced to 40 months in prison.

Andrew "Drew" Brown of Putnam Valley, financial advisor for LEEBA's annuity fund, was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

"Kenneth Wynder and Andrew Brown raided union-sponsored retirement accounts for years, placing their self interest over the hard-working public servants they represented as the president and financial advisor of the union, respectively," said Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

The Annuity Fund is a LEEBA fund that received monthly contributions from the city for the benefit of LEEBA’s members and maintained separate accounts for each fund member — functionally similar to employer-sponsored 401(k) retirement accounts.

Wynder was a trustee of the Annuity Fund, and Brown, the founder of a Westchester-based financial services company, was a plan administrator and financial advisor.

From the union's operating funds, Wynder wrote unauthorized and excessive checks to himself and cash withdrawals for his own benefit and to pay insurance benefits for which Brown received commissions. He covered the expenses by stealing from the pension fund, prosecutors said.

Wynder had the union pay for various personal expenses such as the purchase of a Lexus automobile, travel expenses to Dallas to watch a Dallas Cowboys football game, and a sailing trip.

Wynder, a Pennsylvania resident, also conspired with the union's treasurer, Steven Whittick, a former police officer for New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection who lived in Kingston. SEE: Ex-Treasurer Of Law Enforcement Union Guilty Of Tax Evasion

Whittick and Wynder gave themselves some payments off-the-books, making sure the transactions were made outside of LEEBA’s payroll processor, and concealed those payments from the IRS, prosecutors said.

"Wynder also evaded taxes on cash, checks, and other income he obtained from the union, including as a product of their theft from the union members’ retirement accounts," Williams said.

In addition to his prison term, Wynder, 60, of Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, was ordered to forfeit $529,000 and to pay $838,683 in restitution.

In addition to his prison term, Brown, 56, of Putnam Valley, New York, was ordered to forfeit $3,049 and to pay $529,000 in restitution.

Whittick, 54, of Kingston, New York, was sentenced to 28 months in prison on Nov. 17, 2021, and ordered to pay $179,766 in restitution.

"Union officials and advisors who violate their duties to the union members they represent will face serious consequences for their abuse of trust," Williams said.