PROVIDENCE – Christopher Hayes, 49, of Middletown, R.I., a former Newport, R.I., Police Department Sergeant and former President of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), Newport Lodge No. 8, today pleaded guilty in federal in Providence to an information charging him with wire fraud.
Appearing before U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith, Hayes admitted to the court that between August 2009 and December 2014, he used an FOP debit card to pay for his own personal expenses; wrote checks payable to himself from the FOP bank account; withdrew cash from the FOP bank account for personal use; and made online payments to his personal credit card from the FOP bank account.
An investigation by the United States Attorney’s Office, U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General and Office of Labor Management Standards, and the Rhode Island State Police determined that Hayes fraudulently converted approximately $71,523 in FOP funds for his own personal use.
Christopher Hayes is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith on July 21, 2017.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John P. McAdams.
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