Former vice chair of DC's Police Union pleads guilty to fraud

WASHINGTON — The former vice chairman of the of the D.C. Police Union has pleaded guilty to time and attendance fraud after an investigation found that he was working a second job as security at a grocery store.

According to court documents, Medgar Webster Sr., 52, worked a second job at Whole Foods while on the clock with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

The court documents say Webster worked at two Whole Foods Market locations at 101 H Street Southeast and 1440 P Street Northwest in 2021 and 2022. During that time, he was paid $33,845.59 by MPD while he simultaneously worked at Whole Foods. The court documents say Webster worked a total of 29 hours between the two locations, and of those 29 hours, 28 of those were counted as overtime for MPD. In total, he was paid an additional $2,283.87 while working at the grocery store. 

The police department requires all members to submit administrative forms requesting authorization to work outside of the department. During the course of the investigation, court documents say Webster confirmed he did not have authorization nor the required forms on file to work at the Whole Foods.

“By stealing from the Metropolitan Police Department, Medgar Webster, Sr. not only committed a crime, but he violated the trust that District residents place in law enforcement officers,” said Attorney General Brian Schwalb in a press statement. “The Office of the Attorney General developed our Public Corruption Section to ensure that those who misuse District government resources, threaten the integrity of government services, and undermine public trust are held accountable—and we are committed to continuing our partnership with the US Attorney’s Office to investigate and prosecute these crimes.”

Webster was arrested in February and pleaded guilty to one county of first-degree felony fraud on Monday. As part of his plea, Webster must pay full restitution. 

Webster is scheduled to appear in court for sentencing on July 25.