(NewsNation) — A Washington, D.C., police officer has been charged with fraud after he worked a second job while still on duty.
Medgar Webster is also the former vice chair of the police union. He’s been charged with felony fraud because he was working on the clock as an officer, even getting paid overtime, while holding a second, secret job.
According to court documents, Webster was also working at three separate Whole Foods in the area and never told his department about the job. After this story aired, a spokesperson from Whole Foods said Webster was never employed by the store directly.
“This former police officer was stationed at Whole Foods Markets by the security firm that he worked for. He was never employed by Whole Foods Market,” a PR spokesperson told NewsNation.
The fraud took place from January 2021 to April of 2022, according to court documents. The affidavit said in total, he was paid more than $34,000 of his regular police salary for hours when he was simultaneously working at Whole Foods, including more than $17,000 of overtime pay.
Of the more than 1,000 hours Webster was stationed at a Whole Foods, 485 were done while he was on the clock for the police department.
There is a legal way for a D.C. police officer to hold a second job, but department rules require officers to request approval and state that the second job can’t interfere with their police work.
Webster did not request approval through the proper channels and held his second job in secret. DCist reported he has been placed on administrative leave and indefinite suspension has been proposed.
Webster has also faced allegations that he committed sexual assault at a D.C.-area Whole Foods, though he does not appear to have faced formal charges for the offense.
Webster has been charged with first-degree felony fraud, facing up to 10 years in prison and steep fines if he is convicted.