A New London man was sentenced to 24 months in prison for embezzlement and theft of labor union assets last Tuesday.

According to court records, 53-year-old James Darin Boatman, the former president of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 617 Union, embezzled and stole union funds for his personal use. Members of UFCW Local 617 include production workers and skilled trade workers at the Fort Madison Conagra plant.

The investigation revealed that Boatmen set up a credit card in the Union’s name, without authorization, and used the card for personal expenses from at least May 2017 to August 2019. This included vacations to Florida, large repairs on his personal vehicle, and to pay for an attorney for an unrelated matter. Boatman also wrote checks from the Union funds to cover personal expenses and pay himself for unauthorized lost time for periods he claimed he was conducting Union business.

Boatman pled guilty and agreed to pay $74,231.34 in restitution to the Union. Following his prison term, he was ordered to serve three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney, Richard D. Westphal. The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor and Office of Labor-Management Standards.