The longtime bookkeeper for a Rock Springs-based labor union chapter admitted to police that she had written dozens of checks to herself since 2016, totaling nearly $30,000 before getting caught.
Toni R. Edwards could get up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 if convicted of the single charge of felony theft she faces in Sweetwater County Circuit Court, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in her case.
Edwards had been the union’s bookkeeper for more than 25 years.
When confronted with 49 checks totaling $29,200 issued to her from the Southwest Wyoming Central Labor Union, and deposited in her personal bank accounts, Edwards told a Rock Springs Police Department investigator that she would take from the union account when money was tight.
“Edwards explained she did write the checks, and she would … place the money into her bank account at Federal Credit Union,” the affidavit says. She also “stated she was having a hard time paying her bills a lot of the time.
“She got a new trailer to live in, and her power had been shut off a couple of times, so she would write a check to herself and take the money,” the document added. “Edwards also explained she has a lot of medical bills as she is in poor health.”
Attempts to reach Edwards at listed phone numbers for her were unsuccessful.
Check For Candy Bounced
The alleged theft was uncovered before Nov. 25, 2025, when one of the union members tried to write a check for a legitimate expense, but it bounced, the affidavit says.
The member “said he had gone into a business to buy candy for a parade and the check he had previously written had bounced, which should not have occurred,” the document says.
That prompted a deeper dive into the AFL-CIO-affiliated union’s books.
“When looking into the funds in their account, they discovered that their bookkeeper for 25 years, Toni R. Edwards, had been fraudulently stealing from the carpenters union,” according to the affidavit. “Once one check was discovered, they began looking back for other checks that were out of place.”
What they found was dozens of checks from 2016 through 2025.
“They knew the checks were fraudulent because all the signatures were the same,” the affidavit says.
A group of union members took what they found into the Rock Springs Police Department in late November 2025, which set off an investigation that has led to the felony charge for Edwards.
The Interview
A police officer finally caught up with Edwards for an interview on Jan. 20 at the police department, where she didn’t deny the allegations, according to the affidavit.
She was shown and asked about all 49 of the checks and asked “to look at each one and verify that it was her signature so she was not wrongly accused of any of the checks,” the affidavit says.
She verified them all, said she had deposited them into her personal bank account, and “admitted to taking the money without permission, and it was not her money to use.”
‘Upsetting’
An internal audit by union leadership led to unraveling Edwards’ alleged embezzlement, said President Marshal Cummings, who said nobody ever really gets away with wrongdoing.
“It’s super important we follow all these steps and procedures we have, because our members work too hard for their money,” Cummings told Cowboy State Daily on Monday. “I’m happy we discovered it, I’m happy we’ll recoup as much as we can from her.”
Cummings was recently elected president of the union chapter and didn’t know Edwards, but that for someone to work there for 25 years and spend a good portion of that stealing is discouraging.
He also said that, like any union member, if she was having difficulties, Edwards should’ve reached out to the union for help, not allegedly steal.
“I don’t know her personally, but to have that kind of moral compass and steal from people who would have willingly helped her, that’s heartbreaking,” Cummings said.
“It’s upsetting someone would take advantage like that,” he added. “But knowing the process will always catch the bad guys, that’s something I hold dear. Eventually, you get caught.”
Cummings said the situation with Edwards reminds him of one of his rules for life: “If you’re about to do something you have to lie about later, you shouldn’t do it.”
Edwards was given a summons to appear in Sweetwater County Circuit Court, with her first appearance scheduled for March 12.
Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.
