JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Calling her a “corrupt union boss” in court documents, federal prosecutors are asking a judge to sentence Teresa “Terrie” Brady to 36 months in prison next week, for a fraud scheme that enabled her to pocket more than $1 million from the Duval Teachers United union over nearly a decade.
In January 2025, prosecutors announced a variety of fraud charges against Brady and former DTU vice president Ruby George. According to the indictment, Brady and George sold un-earned leave time back to the union, enabling each to pocket more than $1 million. The indictment said the two withheld the activity from the DTU’s auditors by signing each other’s checks, hid the payments from the DTU’s Secretary/Treasurer, and withheld the funds from Florida’s Public Employee Relations Committee (PERC) in required yearly financial statements. Brady was also charged with two counts of money laundering.
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In October, Brady pleaded guilty to four of the charges she faced, including wire fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering.
“I accept full responsibility for my actions and their consequences,” Brady wrote in a statement at the time to News4JAX. “I am truly sorry for my wrongdoing and the harm I caused to Duval Teachers United (DTU) and its members. Understanding the seriousness of my offenses, I accept the outcome with humility and sincere remorse while deeply regretting breaching the trust placed in me by DTU, my community and my family.”
George pleaded guilty in August to three counts: conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aiding and abetting wire fraud, and aiding and abetting mail fraud.
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In court filings this week, prosecutors and defense attorneys submitted sentencing memorandums ahead of Monday’s scheduled sentencing. The filings are in part based on a calculation based on sentencing guidelines, which suggest a sentence of 33 to 41 months.
In asking for the 36-month sentence for Brady, prosecutors note that it is in the middle of the guidelines range. They wrote that Brady and George broke the trust of the teachers who were a part of the union.
Prosecutors said that through a “decade of deceit and deception,” Brady stole at least $1,328,695 from DTU, through leave time that was sold back, but had not yet been earned. They also noted that Brady is an “individual – not just with influence – but also of means,” adding that she drives a Mercedes, lives in Avondale, and earned more than $150,000 a year as DTU president. The document notes that after she pleaded guilty, Brady was able to write a check to the government for more than $1.3 million to fulfill her forfeiture obligation.
Brady’s attorney, prominent Jacksonville defense attorney Hank Coxe, also submitted a sentencing memorandum, in which they ask for a sentence of 33 months’ probation, with 18 months of home confinement as a condition of the probation, and a monthly restitution obligation of $1,000.
The memo notes Brady’s upbringing in Jacksonville and her time as a classroom teacher before joining the DTU as a staff consultant in 1989, a role she held until 1999, when she was elected president of the union. It describes her as a classic “workaholic,” and that by 2003, she had accumulated more than 5,000 hours of leave.
In 2010, the union’s auditor noted the financial liability that Brady and George’s large amounts of unused leave time represented for the union, and urged them to either take the vacation days, or sell the time back to the union when the union had the funds available, which she began doing. But the memo notes that, according to an analysis by the government, around 2013, she had used up all of the leave that she had accrued. While she was still legitimately accruing leave at that point – she was still cashing in leave like she used to do, but at this point, some of the leave she was cashing in had not actually been earned.
The defense filing also references letters submitted directly to the court on Brady’s behalf that “show a woman whose life has been marked by care and compassion, and concern for those in pain and distress.”
While the prosecution’s filing called for a specific sentence for Brady, it did not make a similar recommendation for George. Prosecutors wrote that she has substantially assisted the government in the prosecution of the case. In the memo, they write that whether she continues to cooperate and the extent of the cooperation – including the on the day of her sentencing hearing – will be something for prosecutors to consider in sentencing.
Prosecutors submitted a separate motion for that “downward departure” based on her assistance – saying that when interviewed, she provided prosecutors with information that incriminated Brady. A report of the interview was provided to Brady, and prosecutors write that George’s availability as a witness at trial may have contributed to her decision to plead guilty. They write that the reduction in sentence due to the cooperation would reduce the guideline range from 33-41 months, down to 24-30 months, though again, a specific sentencing recommendation was not made in the court filings.
For their part, George’s attorneys ask that the assistance to the government, as well as George’s significant health issues, as outlined in court documents, be reasons for a downward departure from the guidelines. They also point to numerous letters submitted to the court by George’s family and friends, including a former school board member. The defense filing doesn’t ask for a specific sentence but asks for a “reasonable” sentence that balances the need for George to be present with her family so they can help care for her.
The sentencing for Brady and George is set for 1:30 p.m. on Monday in Jacksonville’s federal courthouse.