Whiteside County man sentenced for embezzlement

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) - A Whiteside County man receives prison time this week for embezzling from a labor organization.

Brent Toppert, 43, of Morrison, will spend five months in federal prison, followed by six months of home detention. He is also ordered to pay a $5,000 fine.

Toppert pled guilty in February to taking more than $55,000 from SPFPA Local 238. He admitted that from 2013 to 2018 he made several unauthorized withdrawals from SPFPA’s bank account for personal use.

“While the vast majority of union officials do their work diligently and without incident, unfortunately, criminal violations do occur,” Thomas Murray, district director for the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards. “When they do, it is the union and its members that are the victims.”