NEW BEDFORD, MASS. (WHDH) - A former New Bedford Police Department (NBPD) officer and NBPD Union Treasurer was sentenced Monday for stealing almost $50,000 in union funds, according to the Massachusetts Department of Justice.
Joshua Fernandes, 41, of New Bedford was sentenced to three months in prison and two years of supervised release. The government recommended a sentence of one year in prison. Officials said that Fernandes was also ordered to pay a restitution in the amount of $47,851.
Fernandes was union treasurer for nearly a decade.
According to officials, Fernandes used the stolen funds to pay for personal expenses including vacations, family outings, a monthly wireless family phone plan, and online dating. Fernandes carried out his scheme by reimbursing his personal credit card accounts with union funds and by using the union’s credit cards to pay directly for non-union expenses.
Fernandes pled guilty to one count of wire fraud in October.
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